Giving Thanks for What We Have
by Two Phantoms
Summary: A sequel of sorts to "More than Meets the Eye"; A man from Lee's past turns Amanda's family life upside-down
1. Giving Thanks for What We Have - Part 1

Disclaimers: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned authors. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you would like to add it to an archive, please just let us know.

Summary: This story takes place after the series has ended. It's a "sequel" of sorts to our story _"More Than Meets the Eye."_ A man from Lee's past turns Amanda's family life upside down.

Author's Notes: We did extensive research surrounding the Vietnam War and events that took place during that time. Some scenarios mentioned really did occur; we just added the wonderful world of SMK to them. Any airplane scenes mentioned we checked with a flight expert to handle any reality issues as we wrote. A very special thank you to Tammy for beta reading and being a true part of helping us write this story.

Timeframe: Thanksgiving the year they were married.

Rating: R (some suggestive situations and language)

**__**

Giving Thanks for What We Have

By Diane & Amy (Two Phantoms)

Chapter 1

Amanda Stetson sat at her desk, putting the finishing touches on the caseload files her and her partner had completed over the past year. As she flipped through the pages, Nick Grant's name caught her eye. A warm smile crossed her face as she glanced over at her husband's empty desk. They had been secretly married during that case. 

A lot had changed in the last nine months. Lee had openly become more involved in her family life, getting to know each of her boys better on a one-on-one type basis. Phillip had taken to Lee immediately; however, she could sense that Jamie was still uncertain of his own emotions towards the new man in his mother's life. 

Next week Lee would be joining them for Thanksgiving dinner, and this would be their first true "family" gathering. This "secret" marriage was becoming harder and harder to keep hidden from the outside world. Over the past few weeks they had been involved in several dangerous cases, some of which required their home and family to be under surveillance. Lee had insisted he stay in the house to protect his new family. They had successfully pulled off his overnight stays, with him slipping downstairs in the wee hours of the morning to sack out on the couch. They both felt safer with him in the house, just in case something went wrong.

She lifted her eyes from the paperwork at hand as the smell of dried flowers wafted through the air. She smiled as she rose to close the cracked window behind the arrangement, leaning carefully over the fragile flowers as she did so. 

She smiled at the memory behind the flowers. They had mysteriously appeared her first day back at work after recovering from being shot during their honeymoon. Replacing a piece of baby's breath that had fallen from the arrangement, she remembered seeing Francine exit the office just as she had arrived that day. Francine had mumbled her welcome back words as a blush crept into her cheeks and hastily retreated down the hall. Amanda had learned over the years that Francine had placed walls around her own heart concerning relationships, even those involving friends. Francine would never admit that she had placed the flowers there, but Amanda knew she had.

Returning to her desk, she thought of the day the Agency doctors had given her the green light to return to active duty. Amanda missed being out in the field and worried too much when she wasn't there to watch her husband's back. Lee had been a little overly protective of her during the first few cases, but after a long lecture from Billy, he had settled down and things had gotten back to normal.

The ringing of the telephone brought her out of her thoughts. "Hello?"

"Is the most beautiful woman I ever met going to be able to sneak away from work by three o'clock to meet her handsome husband at the airfield?" asked a husky voice.

A wide smile crossed her lips as she imagined the mischievous smile she was sure her husband was wearing. Amanda lowered her voice into a sensual tone. "Do you miss me?"

She received a robust laugh from the man on the other end of the phone. "I don't think 'miss' is quite the word I'd use."

"What _would_ you say then?" Amanda continued the light flirting.

His tone became low and deep. "I don't think words can describe it. Why don't you just come on down here, and I'll show you?"

Amanda felt a slight blush creep into her cheeks. Even after being married for nearly a year, this man could still ignite her body with just his voice. Her voice cracked slightly as she responded, "I guess I'll just have to make sure I'm on time for that flight."

"Promise?"

"Oh, yeah. I promise. I just have to finish up some reports that my _partner_ neglected to do last night and get them to Mr. Melrose before I head out."

"Your partner must've had some very important plans to have neglected his duties so. I guess he'll just have to make it up to you somehow."

Amanda laughed lightly at her husband's play of words. "Promises, promises."

"Oh, that's one promise I intend to keep, Mrs. Stetson. That _is_ if you get here on time!"

Amanda pulled at the collar of her turtleneck sweater. Deciding the subject was heading to territory better discussed in private, she decided to change the subject. "I take it that you found Captain Kurt?"

Lee paused for a minute, trying to decide whether he should continue his playful tactics or not. "You're not going to get out of it that easily. We'll just have to continue our other conversation when you get here." Remaining silent, he waited for her response.

Amanda closed her eyes at the thought of her husband's insinuations. "Lee...Did you find Captain Kurt?"

A husky laugh once again came across the phone lines. "Yes, dear wife. I found him. He was more than willing to let us borrow one of his planes for our 'mission.' He just purchased a 1972 Cessna Skylane and is going to let us take it out on its maiden voyage. I'm so glad I can finally take you on a flight and not have to worry about someone shooting us down."

"Me, too." Amanda started signing forms to quicken her departure time while she continued their conversation.

Lee's voice softened. "I'm so glad your mother is going to marry him. It's nice to see her as happy as we are."

Amanda thought back to her mother's reception of Lee over the past few months. Her mother had immediately taken Lee in as one of the family, constantly hounding her about when they would stop fooling around and 'tie-the-knot.' Perhaps it was Lee's charm, or the fact that he genuinely cared for every member of her family, that made her mother want him to be a more permanent fixture in their lives.

"Amanda, are you still there?" Lee asked, concerned with her silence.

"Sorry. I was just thinking how things have changed. I couldn't agree with you more about her being happy. Although, I am going to miss her once she moves out of the house. You know, maybe it's time we became a 'real' family too, Lee."

"I was thinking that same thing, Amanda. This part-time husband, stepfather, son-in-law thing is getting old. I want us to be a real family, and I want everyone to know that I'm here for the long haul. Maybe after this weekend we can work something out with the family situation. I'm sure it would make your mother extremely happy."

Smiling, Amanda nodded. "Maybe."

"Let's not talk about it over the phone, though. I want to have you here with me. So, hurry up with your partner's paperwork and get down here. Oh, and I already picked up your suitcase from the house, so there's no need to make a stop there, especially since the boys will be with Joe after school."

"All right, I'll be there on time, I promise. I love you, Lee." Amanda replied.

"I love you, too. See you soon." Lee hung up the phone, and Amanda waited to hear the dial tone before hanging up herself. She looked at the phone briefly, replaying Lee's words in her head. 'I want us to be a "real" family.' "Maybe this weekend will be a good opportunity for us to talk, without any interruptions," she said aloud to the empty room.

Looking quickly at her watch, she realized she had about half an hour before she needed to be on the road. She was glad Mr. Melrose had given them this "easy" assignment. All they had to do was meet up with one of Lee's informants near Cape Cod the next morning, then they would get the whole weekend to themselves.

Stacking the files neatly, she stood and entered the vault. Filing the packets that did not require Mr. Melrose's signature, she noticed that the Khruschev file had been placed in the wrong slot. As she moved it to the appropriate place, her mind wandered to the events occurring shortly after that case had ended. 

Mr. Melrose had stopped by the Q-Bureau one evening as she and Lee were leaving. He had asked them to join him for dinner since Jeannie was out of town visiting relatives. They'd agreed and headed to Randy's. Amanda remembered that night very well. Mid-way through their appetizer, Mr. Melrose had made a toast to them. "Congratulations. May your life be long, and your marriage as happy as Jeannie and mine." Amanda closed the filing cabinet and exited the vault.

Placing the files that needed to be signed on the edge of her desk, she walked over to the window behind Lee's desk. It was a beautiful day, and the weatherman had called for more of the same for the next three days. 

Her mind again drifted back to Mr. Melrose's toast. Lee had almost choked on his drink when Billy had said the word "marriage." Her own eyes had grown wide in shock, and all three remained momentarily silent. Lee had been the first to ask how their boss had known. Billy simply stated that he wasn't the Section Chief for nothing. The three had laughed at the true meaning behind that comment. 

Lee had then probed their boss for more information on how he had really found out. Mr. Melrose had laughed and told them he'd known since the night in the safe house just before Christmas, during the fiasco with Andre Krutiov. He wasn't sure when they had gotten married, but had a pretty good idea. 

They had then spent the rest of dinner discussing the events that had led up to their wedding day. They were glad to finally be able to share their news with someone, especially Billy.

Turning from the autumn scene before her, she pulled on her coat and grabbed the files from her desk. She was thankful for her boss' observation skills; he had made their life much easier after that night. Mr. Melrose would occasionally give them special overnight assignments. Amanda suspected it was a direct result of the tension that had been growing between her and Lee, and their boss had realized how much they needed some true together time, away from work, family, and the prying eyes of the Agency.

Retrieving her purse from the back of her chair, she headed out of the office. Locking the Q-bureau door behind her, she headed down to the bullpen, wanting to drop the reports off with Mr. Melrose before leaving to meet Lee. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee stood near Captain Kurt's hangar, watching for signs of Amanda's car. Glancing at his watch, he noticed that it was already 3:05. 'No need to panic; she's only five minutes late,' he told himself. Turning, he headed into the hangar to talk to the mechanic and double check that everything was cleared for the flight. 

Amanda looked at the clock on her dashboard as she parked her car just outside Captain Kurt's hangar. It said 3:10 p.m. "I hope Lee isn't too worried," she said aloud as she grabbed her purse and headed out of the car.

Lee had heard her pull up and met her by the hanger door. "I was beginning to get worried," he said in a calm voice. "What took you so long?" He wrapped his arms around her waist.

Amanda smiled. "Ten minutes is hardly long, Lee. There was a bit of a traffic jam on the George Washington Parkway." She leaned up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

  
Lee wasn't going to settle for just a quick kiss. He hadn't seen his wife all day and took advantage of the fact that there were no Agency personnel around. Pulling her a little closer, he turned the quick kiss into a more passionate one.

The sound of a wrench dropping in the hangar brought them both back to reality. 

"Come on, I'm anxious to get in the air." Lee reluctantly released her from the embrace but kept his hand on her lower back as the walked towards the plane.

Amanda stood a few feet from the plane and admired the small craft. "So, this is Captain Kurt's latest toy?" 

Lee looked over the front of the aircraft to see his wife's approving smile. "Yep. He tells me that Jamie has taken quite an interest in his 'toys,' as you so fondly call them."

Amanda walked around the front of the plane to join her husband in his pre-flight check. "Jamie has mentioned once or twice about going up with Kurt. You don't think he bought this plane to make friends with Jamie, do you?"

Lee shook his head as he focused on the prop for any nicks or dings. "Maybe. He's trying hard to gain their acceptance into the family." He looked up and gave his wife a sheepish grin then continued to check the inlets for bugs and other debris. 

Amanda followed and placed her hand on her husband's back as he knelt beside the tire on the pilot's side. "Toys may be an interesting distraction, but gaining trust and love is what will make it work for him."

Lee stood and walked the length of the wing, pausing to check the flaps and lights. "It's hard to know where to start." Stopping his intense inspection, he turned and placed a quick peck on her lips. "I was just lucky to have the support of my loving wife to help me fit into the family."

Amanda smiled following a few steps back as he moved to the tail of the plane then repeated the inspection on the other side. "You didn't need my help. You've done a wonderful job of making them comfortable around you. I think that before long you'll have won them over completely."

Lee shoved his hands in his pockets and headed over to the tool chest beside the hangar door. "They made it easy on me. Even Jamie seems to be at ease with me now."

Amanda took a seat on a nearby stool as she watched her husband retrieve an injector cup to check the gasoline with. Her eyes softened as she continued to study the blue and white plane. It had been many years since she had watched a pre-flight check. Sighing, she pushed the memories to the back of her mind. "So, you really look like you know what you're doing."

Lee nodded as he inspected the color of the gasoline. "Yep. I've done this a time or two. I might just give this little job to you, if we get to take many more excursions like this."

Amanda rose from her perch and went to stand beside her husband. "You might be teaching Jamie this before all is said and done."

Lee's smile widened at the thought. "That would be a good thing, don't you think?"

Amanda gave him a firm pat on the butt as she watched his eyes widen from the wheels beginning to turn in his head. "Yes. It would be good."

Lee grabbed her hand as she started over to retrieve her purse she had left on the floor beside the plane. "I know a few other things I could teach you that would be good."

Amanda gave him an innocent look as she allowed him to pull her hard against him. "You do?"

"Mmm…hmm…" Lee started to lean forward and show her a few ideas just as a mechanic cleared his throat and approached them from the back of the hangar.

The mechanic wiped his hands with a red rag as he approached. "Mr. Stetson, are you ready for me to help you push this baby out to the runway?"

Lee reluctantly released his wife and then returned to the plane. "I guess we're burning valuable daylight." He then proceeded to kick the chocks out from in front of the wheels to allow the plane to be pushed outside. 

Amanda stepped forward to put her hands on one of the wing struts and helped the men work the plane out into the open. Watching Lee push the tail gently down to get the top of it under the hangar doorframe, her mind wandered back to her own childhood experience. Her father would hoist her up to straddle the fuselage just in front of the tail to provide enough weight for the tail to clear the door. He had told her that was an important job for his co-pilot, and she'd eagerly performed her "duty" until she was too big. 

Fifteen minutes later, they were taxiing towards the runway. Amanda watched her husband intently while he checked the instruments and listened to the tower personnel. Adjusting her headset, she realized she'd never been in a plane with Lee as the pilot before. Sure she had ridden with him in a helicopter a few times, but usually they were in a life-or-death situation. She was either looking out for the bad guys, or they were dodging bullets.

Looking out the window as the engine rumbled through its warm-up, her thoughts drifted to the last time she'd been in the passenger seat of a private plane. Her mind was so busy replaying that scene that she barely noticed the ground suddenly began to grow smaller as the tiny plane lifted off the runway.

  


Lee maneuvered the plane to an even coast at 6,000 feet altitude. Relaxing a bit, he glanced over at his preoccupied wife. Adjusting his mouthpiece, he asked, "Amanda, honey, everything okay?" 

Amanda jumped at the sound of his voice so close to her ear. Turning to look at her husband, she replied, "Hmm…what?" 

Lee's eyebrows furrowed at the fact that her mind was obviously somewhere other than with him at the moment. "I asked if everything was okay. You seem a million miles away." 

"Yeah, I'm fine." She noticed the worried frown forming on Lee's forehead and added, "I was just thinking about the last time I sat in the passenger seat of a cockpit, _not _running from bad guys."

  
Locking his eyes with hers momentarily, he replied, "Oh, really. When was that?" Lee's mind raced with this new information. She never ceased to amaze him. Just when he thought he knew everything there was to know about the beautiful woman beside him, she threw him another little tidbit of information about her life. This type of surprise was one of the many aspects of their relationship he enjoyed.

Amanda warmly smiled at his piqued interest. "Did I ever tell you that my father was a pilot?" She turned from his searching eyes and focused on the patchwork earth passing with deceptive slowness below.

  
Shaking his head, he placed his hand on his wife's knee. "No, I don't think you ever did."

Amanda returned her attention back to him at his gentle touch. "He was a helicopter pilot for a local news station. He used to take me up in small planes, but when I was about thirteen, he decided it was time for my first real ride in a whirlybird. Even though it drove Mother crazy, he continued to take me whenever he had the opportunity. Mother always had a fear of heights and hated it when I went up with Daddy." She paused as the happy memory fled through her mind. 

A shadow of sadness now caressed her features as she took Lee's hand in hers. Turning, once again, to look at the passing clouds, she continued, "Then when Daddy's chopper went down during the war, it was a long time before she'd even step onto a plane. Sometimes, when she knew we would be required to take a flight for I.F.F., I'd hear her crying at night." 

Lee squeezed her hand briefly before letting it go and returning his own hand to the controls. "I'm sorry, Amanda." Looking intently at the instruments, he put the plane on autopilot once they had reached 7,000 feet altitude. 

Amanda looked over at her husband's lean features, a smile returning to her lips. "It was a long time ago, Lee. Apparently, Mother has overcome her fears. She did fly out to California by herself. Not to mention the fact that she started taking flying lessons with Captain Kurt." 

Glancing at the instruments to see that they were set to his satisfaction, he turned his attention to his wife. "I wish her first flight could have been under better circumstances." 

Amanda reached over and softly caressed his cheek. "That's all in the past, now, Lee. We have our future to look forward to." 

Lee's hazel eyes locked with hers as he took her hand from his cheek and grazed her fingers with his lips. "A wonderful future."  


A slight giggle escaped Amanda's lips. "The only time I was in the actual pilot's seat was on our first case together. I guess I should've paid more attention to Daddy during our outings." 

Entwining her fingers in his, he rested their hands in his lap. Chuckling, Lee remembered their first case all too well. "I guess your dad never let you fly the whirlybird then?"

Amanda's eyes widened at his amusement at her expense. Shaking her head, she gave him her most brilliant smile. "Actually he would let me hold the controls, but no, he never let me fly it by myself. Besides, I think I handled that chopper pretty well."

Lee's body shook slightly as he repressed the loud laugh that he wanted to let out. "Well, we made it out alive anyway." 

Amanda noticed his efforts of repressing his laughter. Giving him a swat on the arm, she exclaimed. "I saved your butt!" 

Lee regained his composure and brought her hand to his lips, kissing each knuckle. His voice held a new tone, one of seriousness. "You saved my butt that time and many more. I thank God every day I have you by my side." Releasing her hand at the sight of another small plane, he watched carefully to determine its heading. When it remained on the horizon line and appeared to grow larger, he adjusted the instruments to drop back down to 6,000 feet to assure that the plane would pass above them.

Amanda's fingers found their way to his arm as he furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of the other plane slowly veering off to the right. A soft sigh escaped her lips when she felt his muscles twitch as she traced the outline of his arm through his blue wool sweater. "I love you, Mr. Stetson." 

Satisfied that the other plane had maneuvered to a new heading, he readjusted back to 7,000 feet and returned the plane to autopilot. Taking her hand from his arm, he pulled her closer to place a soft kiss on her lips. "I love you, too." 

"If you think about it, Lee. Things do tend to come full circle." Amanda turned her attention back to the clouds playing hide and seek with the sun.

Lee's mind flashed to his parents and how they had come to be together. Then, looking over to his partner in life, he was thankful the same had happened to him. "They certainly do." 

Amanda gently twisted her heart pendant in her fingers. "I can't help but think how ironic life is sometimes. Mother always hated that Daddy flew, even when he was at home, just doing it for the station. Now she's the one flying and marrying another pilot to boot." 

Lee placed his hand on her knee, gently squeezing. "I guess love works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?" 

Amanda looked back at Lee with loving eyes, "Yes. Yes, it does." Then she once again watched the wonders of the sky.

Lee had never really thought much about the loss of her father. He knew that it had been a tragedy, but he had never delved further into the story behind his death. Amanda had lost a parent, just as he had lost both of his. True, it was different in that he was five at the time and she still had her mother, but losing a parent at any age is never an easy thing.

After a few moments of silence between them, Amanda returned her attention back to her husband. Watching him examine the instruments and noticing how at ease behind the controls he was, she realized there was something she'd been meaning to ask him. "So when are you going to tell me how you learned to fly?"

A mischievous smile crossed his face. "I was wondering when you were going to ask me that."

Amanda tilted her head and looked at her husband. "Well?"

"Do you remember when I told you that Khai hid me out during an M.I.A. hunt in Cambodia?" She nodded, and he continued, "Well, after the hunt was over, he managed to get word to a pilot in the 101st Airborne Division. The pilot, Captain Nighthawk, swooped down and pulled my butt out of there like it was an everyday run for him. After that night, we stuck together like glue while I waited for the political bullshit to get cleaned up so I could meet up with my G-2 unit again. So, he put my butt in the pilot seat and told me to take off. I guess you could say he gave me a crash course in flying." 

Amanda's eyes twinkled at the knowledge that there had to be a wild story behind that adventure. "So, are you going to tell me about it?"

Lee played innocent. "About what?"

"Your flying lessons," Amanda pouted.

"Need to know, Amanda. Need to know." Lee huskily laughed.

She placed her hand on his knee and began to slowly slide it up towards his inner thigh. "I bet I have ways to torture you and get the information I need."

"Mrs. Stetson, are you proposing that I divulge government secrets?" A wicked smile crossed his lips.

"Mmm...hmm…" Amanda nodded and continued her exploration.

Lee turned passion-filled eyes towards her. "If you continue that, we may end up crashing." 

Amanda slowly removed her hand and placed it back in her lap. "I'll just interrogate you in the privacy of our room tonight."

Lee voice deepened at the thought of her promise. "I've been told that I'm one of the toughest agents to crack." 

Amanda gave him a knowing look. "I have my ways, Scarecrow." 

"That you do, Mrs. Stetson. That you do." Lee felt the heat rise in his body as she continued her sensual stare. Running his hand around the collar of his shirt, he decided to change the subject or land the plane in the middle of nowhere and have his way with his wife. Realizing that the latter was impossible at the moment, he turned the conversation back to his friend, the pilot. "Hey, I've got an idea."

Amanda looked at him through her eyelashes. Relishing in her ability to ignite her husband's passion by just using simple words and a slight touch. "Really." 

Shaking his head, Lee placed his hand over hers. "Amanda, I'm trying to be serious here."

"I was just curious as to what you had in mind," Amanda softly replied. Entwining her fingers through his, she continued to slide her hand back and forth over the faded denim that covered his thigh. 

Taking a deep breath, Lee looked at his wife. "I won't forget this."

Amanda warmly smiled. "I hope not." She watched as her husband shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Pulling her fingers from his, she leaned over and placed a brief kiss on his check. "So, what were you saying about an idea?"

"Well, Captain Nighthawk is living in a veterans' facility in Boston, which is only a forty-five minute drive from the White Swan Bed and Breakfast. We've talked on the phone over the years, but I haven't seen him in over six. What do you say I take you to meet him? He loves company, especially that of a beautiful woman."  
  
Once again, she placed her hand on his knee. "Do you think I'd miss meeting a person from your past? I think it's a wonderful idea."

Lee's face held the excitement of a child on Christmas morning. "Great. After we meet up with Bird-eye we can head over to visit him." 

Amanda was anxious to meet anyone Lee cared for. Not wanting the relaxed teasing to stop, however, she continued her taunting. "So, please tell me that 'Nighthawk' is a code name. You know like 'Scarecrow' and 'Bird-eye.'"

Lee laughed. "Yeah, it is. His squadron gave him that name because he did most of his rescue missions at night."

"Sounds exciting. Care to tell me a few stories?" Her body trembled as he reached over and placed his warm hand on her leg. His strong fingers gently massaged her skin through the thin fabric of her black pants. 

"How about I give you the PG-13 version now and the R version later tonight?" Lee's eyes held a promising glint.

"Promises. Promises." Amanda looked once again at the sky. "Beautiful isn't it."

"Yes." Lee continued to take glances at her instead of the breathtaking scenery around them. 

Lee spent the next forty-five minutes telling Amanda stories about him and Captain Nighthawk. Amanda remained quiet when they reached the airfield on the Cape and marveled at how well her husband could land a plane. She sighed contentedly when they were on the ground, happy that he had landed Captain Kurt's plane safely. 

"It's nice to actually take a flight with you and land on a runway." Amanda teased as she pulled off her headset and released her seatbelt. 

Lee unclipped his belt, opened the door, and slid out. Walking around the small craft, he opened Amanda's door and looked inside, his lips curling into a promising smile. "Maybe, if you behave yourself this trip, I may give _you _some flying lessons, little lady." 

Amanda slid from her seat and put her right foot on the step plate on the wheel strut. Accepting the hand Lee offered, she gasped when he pulled her down to him in one swift motion. 

Not giving her time to react, he pulled her tightly to him. Capturing her lips with his own, he allowed some of the pent up passion from their plane ride to show in his ever-deepening kiss. 

"Wow!" Amanda whispered as she regained her breath from the kiss. 

"Come on, I want to get our rental car and go get settled in. I want _you_ to start _your_ interrogation of _me_," Lee teased, helping her to stand steadily and walk away from the plane. Gathering their bags from the Cessna's storage compartment, they headed away from the hangar and towards the airfield terminal.

Chapter 2

Amanda accepted the strong, powerful hand before her and exited the Chevy Blazer. "I still don't know why you wanted this vehicle when they had a beautiful red corvette with your name on it."

Lee squared his shoulders and pushed out his chest. "Why, Amanda Stetson, are you implying that I'm vain?"

Amanda couldn't help but laugh at the sight her husband made standing before her. "No. I just know what I've heard about the famous Scarecrow liking fast cars and fast-"

Lee playfully pulled her to him. "Don't even go there!"

Amanda turned her eyes, full of innocence and wonder, up at him. "Go where?"

Shaking his head he lowered his lips to capture hers. Allowing the sound of the ocean and the salty breeze of the air to take them to a place of solitude and peace, they quickly released the passion that had been sparking between them all day. The magic was quickly broken by the sound of a speeding bike breezing past them, barely missing Lee's heels. "What the hell?"

Amanda's laughter filled the air as she watched the teenage boy wave his apology while he continued to streak down the concrete sidewalk. Her attention had been so focused on the man before her she had not taken in the beauty of her surroundings. "Oh my gosh, Lee. This is beautiful."

"I'm glad you like it. I used to come here when I would visit Nighthawk. The couple that keep it up are great folks." Lee's smile widened at the appreciation he noted in his wife's soft brown eyes. "I always found it to be a nice getaway from the fast-paced life of D. C."

Amanda tilted her head to the side and a slight smile came to her lips. "You mean something _normal_, Stetson."

Lee nodded. "Yeah, I do."

Amanda pulled her right arm from around his waist and brushed back a few strands of hair that had found their way to his forehead. "So why did you stop coming to see the Captain?"

Lee's pleasant smile slowly faded. "That's a long story." His hands wondered down his wife's back. "Perhaps you would like to try your interrogation skills and get me to tell you about that, too?" His eyes held a new fire that burned heavily.

Amanda removed her left arm from his waist and gave him a quick pat on the butt. "Sounds like a plan. Why don't we get settled in and take it from there?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Lee chuckled as he went to the back of the Blazer to retrieve their luggage.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee stood silently observing his wife's radiant form. The evening had been perfect so far, starting with dinner and wine, and now a stroll along the beach. 

Amanda felt his warm gaze flowing over her body. She smiled to herself. She loved the idea that they shared such a special connection. It was the kind of bond that allowed them each to know when the other was present or what the other was feeling. "Lee."

Shaking his head, Lee walked up behind her. "I was just watching the moonlight dance on your skin," he whispered as he nuzzled her neck.

Amanda tilted her head to give him better access. "Better be careful, Romeo. Those romantic words just might get you in trouble."

Lee pulled his lips away from her inviting neck and draped the coat he had retrieved for her over her shoulders. "You _are _known for finding trouble, Amanda."

Amanda turned to face him, her eyes holding the same twinkle as the stars above. "Me?"

Lee pulled her body tightly to his and returned his lips to her neckline. "Mmm... hmm..."

Amanda could feel her knees becoming weak as his soft lips moved lower down her neck. At the feel of her trembling under his touch he moved his lips back up her neck and took her mouth with his. The kiss intensified until he gently pulled away, nipping her lower lip as he did. "Would you mind if we continued our walk and saved this for later?"

She swallowed hard, trying to gain control of her own raging need. "I've always said, good things come to those who wait," she stated, letting out a little silvery laugh.

Lee took her right hand in his left and continued their journey down the beach. They remained quiet, listening to the roar of the ocean as it beat against the defenseless sand. 

The smell of the salt water wafted to her nostrils and she sighed contentedly. "There's nothing more relaxing than the feel of the ocean air is there," she said in a hushed voice. 

She stopped walking when she noticed two Swans nestled together beside one of the dunes. 

In response to her question and the sight of the two lovebirds, Lee pulled her to him and continued what he had started earlier near the house.

Amanda slid her arms beneath his jacket and trailed her fingernails down his back as he worked his magic. The feelings he stirred in her every time they kissed brought sensations of need and desire to her very core. She relished each private moment she had alone with her love, and this was no exception.

When Lee pulled back slightly, a moan of disappointment escaped her lips. "It's not nice to tease, Stetson," she complained, her voice thick with passion.

Lee warmly smiled at the brief disappointment that cast over her features as she spoke. He would've liked nothing more than to finish what they had started here and now, but he wanted to continue that in the privacy of their room. He had special arrangements made to have a warm fire, candlelight, and soft music awaiting them when they returned. Noticing a dune not far off, he pointed in its direction. "Amanda, do you mind if we sit for a minute?"

Amanda took his extended hand and walked with him over to the dune, watching the swans find their way back to the water. 

"Amanda, we have a lot to talk about." Lee sat down on the dune and gently guided his wife to sit between his long legs. 

She leaned her head back on his shoulder and placed her hand on his thigh. "I've heard that line before."

Lee pulled her closer, completely engulfing her in his strong arms. Her perfume and the slight scent of her hair nearly drove his current thoughts from his mind. Trying his best to regain his control, he looked out at the waves rolling in with the tide.

Amanda tilted her head back to look at him when he remained quiet. "Penny for your thoughts."

Lee rubbed his left hand over her arm, as he turned his attention back to his stunning wife. "You don't have to pay money for my thoughts, Mrs. Stetson."

Amanda adjusted slightly in his embrace and began to unbutton the top button of his blue shirt. "What _is_ the price for your thoughts, then?"

Lee closed his eyes, envisioning what his wife had in mind. Pushing those thoughts from his mind, he slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his wife's hands. "Amanda, we really need to talk about our 'secret' marriage," he said, his voice husky with lust as his wife had found her way to the second button of his shirt.

Amanda pulled back from her task, allowing her hand to rest on his thigh as she looked up into his hazel eyes. "Yes, we do have a few things to figure out, don't we?"

Lee entwined her fingers in his, looking into her eyes for acceptance to what he was about to ask. " I don't want to live this way anymore. I want to be a part of your life every minute from here on out."

Amanda shifted and sat up straight, facing her husband. Hands still entwined she lifted her free hand and gently stroked his cheek with her fingers. "I want to be with you, too."

Lee leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. "Then let's tell the world that we're engaged." There was a definite eagerness in his voice, and his eyes began to sparkle as he continued, "I just bet your mother would be thrilled to be able to throw us a wedding. We could have a small ceremony and plan it for sometime within the next month. That way, it wouldn't affect your mother's wedding in the spring and I can wake up Christmas morning with my present in my arms."

Shaking her head, she couldn't help but smile at his eagerness. However, she couldn't help but wonder if it was the right thing to do. Sighing, she once again laid her head on his shoulder. "Lee, are you sure this is the right thing to do? We started this to keep our family safe."

Lee stroked her hair with his right hand as he wrapped his left arm around her, pulling her close. "Amanda, it doesn't make sense any more. I pick you up for work every morning. I take you home and stay with your family until I _have_ to leave at night. On the days that we have off, we have to make excuses to hide out at my apartment, or we stay with the boys and do something. It's not like the whole world can't see how much you and your family mean to me. Billy already knows the truth, and everyone at the Agency knows how we feel, if they've paid any attention to us at all."

Amanda remained silent as she felt tears spring to her eyes. She knew he was right, and all she wanted was for him to become a part of her family. She just didn't know if it was selfish of her to put her family at such a risk. "Lee…"

Lee placed his hand under her chin and lifted it up to look into her eyes. "This is right, Amanda. We should've done this from the start. Your family has accepted me as part of their life now. I love you, and you love me. I can't think of any good reason we shouldn't be together as a family. In the past few months, we've had to come up with good reasons for me to stay at the house to protect the family. I've given this a lot of thought, and I think it would be best for all of us if I was a twenty-four hour fixture in our household."

Amanda's soft brown eyes locked with his. The moonlight flickered in his eyes as she saw his commitment and devotion to her family shine through. Nodding, she whispered, "I want you home, living with us, in our house, with our family."

Lee felt a new warmth flow through his veins. She had never called her home "our" house before. The conversation always tended towards her house and his apartment. "Then you agree that we should make a public announcement about our engagement." 

"Yes." Amanda pulled his head down to capture his lips with her own. "I love you, Lee Stetson."

Lee felt as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He excitedly released the breath he wasn't aware he was holding. "Let me take you back to the room and show you just how much I love you." Brushing his lips over hers slowly, he rose and extended his hand.

Amanda accepted his hand and rose to join him. The walk back to the room was done in silence. No words were needed to express where their new journey in life would take them. They were together, happy, in love, and soon, for better or worse, the whole world would know. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee lay awake in bed, watching the morning sun illuminating his wife's creamy skin. They had spent the night taking pleasure in each other, body and soul. Although he had gotten very little sleep, he felt energized just watching her, holding her in his arms, and knowing that she was completely his for the rest of their lives. Gently smoothing the hair that had fallen over her eyes away from her face, his eyes fell upon the commitment of their love that lay nestled between her breasts on a simple gold chain. He smiled to himself, knowing he had made the right decision in preparing her surprise for later that day.

A soft sigh escaped her lips as she snuggled closer to him, her hand coming to rest on his chest and her head nestled against his shoulder. He wondered what he had done in his life to deserve such a gift as this. 

"Been awake long?" Amanda's eyes flittered open, and a soft smile came to her lips. 

Lee didn't answer in words. Instead, he took her face in his hands and renewed the consummation of their love that had ended only hours before. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda watched the children frolic in the leaves of fall as she listened to her husband sing his morning lyrics in tune with the blow dryer. She pulled the gold chain from under her sweater and carefully removed the rings. Lost in thought of the promises made the night before, she hadn't realized the hair dryer had stopped, nor had she heard her husband ease his way behind her. 

Lee reached around her, placing his left hand on her waist and gently taking the rings in his right. "May I?" 

Amanda nodded as he turned her to face him. Taking her left hand in his, he placed the set on her finger. Amanda smiled up at him as he pulled his own ring from his jean pocket. She in turn took his ring from him and began to place it on his finger. "Do you

think it'll be all right for us to wear these out in public?"

Lee brought her into a tight embrace after she finished her task. "Yes. Nobody here knows us, and I've already told the Captain that I'm the luckiest man in the world."

Amanda pulled back from him, her eyes wide with shock. "You told him we're married!"

A soft chuckle escaped his lips. "I had to tell somebody, besides Barney, of my good fortune." He gave her a soft kiss on her forehead and went to retrieve his shoes.

Amanda followed and sat on the edge of the bed as she watched him tie his shoelaces. "I guess I'm just being silly. In a few days, everybody will know that we are at least engaged." 

Lee rose from the chair across from her and knelt before her. "Amanda, everything will work out, fine, you'll see."

Amanda looked into the hazel eyes that held so many promises and found herself believing his words, but still felt a little hesitation over what results this step would have on their family's lives. "What about Dr. Smyth and the rest of the Agency? I know Mother and the boys will be thrilled, but I don't want to stop working with you. I couldn't stand not knowing if you were safe or in danger, and not being there to watch your back."

Lee took her hands in his, reassuring her as he spoke. "Amanda, Billy will back us up. Our track record proves that we can work together without letting our personal relationship get in the way." Lee stopped as he watched Amanda shake her head, then he continued, "Well, not _too_ much, anyway. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea for us to move on to a different department anyway. I'm not as young as I used to be."

A silvery laugh escaped Amanda's lips at the thought of her husband sitting behind a desk on a daily basis. "Somehow, I don't think that would work, Scarecrow. At least not in the near future, you behind a desk, you'd get hives."

Lee joined her laughter. "Well, that's just something that we'll have to deal with when the time comes. I'm not letting you back out of this one on me. We _are_ going to live together as man and wife."

Amanda gently pulled her hands from his and placed them on his shoulders. "I love you."

"I love you, too." The kiss that started out as a quick reassurance of their decision quickly began to mount into a more passionate one.

Amanda pulled away to catch her breath as he rose to his feet and extended his hand. "If we don't leave soon, we'll miss meeting our contact and end up spending the entire day in _this_ bed." He nodded his head in the direction of the unmade bed and raised his eyebrows twice, indicating that he didn't mind that idea one bit.

Amanda gently tugged at her lower lip with her teeth. "I have to say though, that idea _does_ hold some merit."

"Unfortunately, I have other plans for us today, my dear. So, let's get a move on." Lee took her hand and pulled her from the inviting bed.

Amanda playfully smacked his arm and reached for her jacket. "If you insist."

~~~~~~~~~~

The happy couple left the White Swan hand in hand as they ventured off to visit Lee's friend. "I can't believe you actually ate breakfast."

Lee's face beamed with pride as he patted his full stomach. "I worked up quite an appetite last night, in the wee hours of morning, first thing this morning, and then in the shower."

Amanda felt her cheeks become inflamed as she caught the eye of an elderly gentleman who seemed to be intently interested in their conversation, rocking a few feet back from them. "I'm just glad you ate." She pulled him towards their vehicle.

Lee looked to see where Amanda's attention had fallen, and a wide smile crossed his lips as the elderly man gave an elaborate wink. As he opened the car door for his wife, the town echoed with the bells of the town clock. Amanda calculated, under her breath, as the last chime counted ten. "We're really running late, Lee."

"It's not _my_ fault you're so damn irresistible," Lee countered as he closed her door and headed for the driver's side. 

Amanda waited until he was securely behind the wheel before she commented, "Well, perhaps I should wear my hair up in curlers. You know, just like that lovely picture Francine used to paint of how a suburban housewife dresses."

Loud laughter filled the Blazer as the image played in Lee's mind. Then he turned serious and leaned over to taste her lips yet again. "I guess it might disappoint Francine to know that it isn't your hair that holds my interest."

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee maneuvered into the parking lot of the marina, observing the fishermen who were beginning to unload their first bounty of the day. "Amanda, why don't you go and grab us some coffee for the road. I think I need a caffeine boost for the trip to see the Captain."

Amanda tilted her head and held a puzzling expression. "Don't you want me to go with you to meet your contact?"

Shaking his head, he unfastened the seatbelt he now had a habit of wearing. He'd never thought much about it until one particular car chase had resulted in him almost crashing through the windshield, so, at the request of his wife, he always fastened it as soon as he got in the car. "It's a milk run. I'll talk to him while you get our road trip supplies. That way we can get on the road quicker and back to our love nest faster." 

"You have a one-track mind, Mr. Stetson," Amanda teased as she undid her own seatbelt and exited the Blazer.

Lee walked around and met her behind the vehicle. A mischievous smile playing on his lips, he pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm not the one who wouldn't let her husband sleep because of her desires last night."

Amanda playfully smacked him on his stomach and pulled away. "I didn't hear _you_ complaining."

Lee quickly grabbed her before she moved more than a few steps back. "Nope." Amanda pressed her lips to his briefly then turned to enter the small store. "Amanda, wait. Take my wallet. You'll need more than your good looks to get what we need."

She rolled her bottom lip out slightly as she took his offering in hand. "At least I know I don't need money with you."

"That's for sure." Lee turned to go find his informant and finish Agency business quickly in anticipation of what lay ahead for them over the next few days.

Lee approached the out-of-place form dressed in a suit standing at the end of the pier. "Good morning, Bird-eye. Going to a party?"

The man's sharp blue eyes narrowed at Lee. "Been there, done that. What took you so damn long, Stetson? You're thirty minutes late!"

Lee shrugged his shoulders. "I got sidetracked. So, what's so important that you had to drag me up here?"

Roger "Bird-eye" Jameson glanced around nervously as his wild blond hair gave in to the mercy of the wind. "You need to talk to Nighthawk."

Lee's curiosity was piqued at the mention of his friend. "Why?"

The man's tone became hushed as he explained. "There's been a problem. Weasel's returned to the United States, and he wants to check on his...mules."

Lee's jaw tightened at the mention of Weasel. "I thought he was dead."

Bird-eye continued to nervously glance around at his surroundings. "I saw him with my own eyes. He says that there's been a leak in his operation, and he wants to tie up all his loose ends. If ya' know what I mean? I overheard him mention Nighthawk, and I thought you ought to know."

Lee ran his left hand through his hair as his body tensed. "What does he want with Nighthawk? He was never involved with any of Weasel's operations."

Bird-eye shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe Weasel just thinks the Captain was. He may hold Nighthawk responsible for messing up one of his runs when the Captain rescued you during that M.I.A. raid all those years ago." Shuffling his feet, Bird-eye began to walk away from Lee. "I've gotta go before somebody sees me with you. Just take my word of warning that he's back and he's making sure that his mules remain quiet." With that said, the man turned and headed toward the docks.

Lee watched as the man scurried away into the throng of fishermen on the pier. He started back to the Blazer, walking at a much slower pace than his informant, contemplating the new information in his mind. He reached the vehicle just as Amanda exited the store, loaded with coffee and a bag overflowing with road munchies. A bright smile crossed his face and momentarily took his mind from the situation at hand as he helped her into the car and they headed to see Nighthawk.

Chapter 3

Amanda relaxed in the passenger seat as her husband maneuvered the Blazer through the old streets of Boston. Her eyes followed the trail of trees that adorned the sidewalks, abundant with the colors of fall. She glanced at her partner, who had remained quiet for most of the drive. Realizing that he only wore this demeanor when pondering the aspects of a case, she decided to ask what was on his mind. "So, when are you going to tell me what Bird-eye had to say?"

Lee exhaled a large breath and ran his right hand through his hair while his left remained on the wheel. He'd been trying to figure out how to tell her that this simple assignment may have led them into something much bigger. 

  
Noting her husband's lack of a response, she grew a little concerned. "Lee, what's wrong?"

He decided it was probably best to just come right out and tell her. "Turns out an old nemesis of mine, by the name of Weasel, has returned to the States. Stan and I had a run-in with him while we were in Vietnam. We thought Weasel had been killed on one of the U.S. attacks on the Viet Cong, but apparently we were wrong. Bird-eye informed me that, for some reason, Weasel is looking for Nighthawk. I'm sorry, Amanda. Turns out this easy little assignment is turning into something much larger."

Amanda recognized the disappointment in his voice. Putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, she tried to reassure him. "Hey, we were sent here to do Agency business, and we should know by now that our 'easy' assignments always have ways of turning into something bigger." She glanced out the window in order to hide the disappointment showing on her own face from Lee.

Lee's lips formed a crooked smile at his wife's words and her sudden change of demeanor. He knew she was just as disappointed about this as he was. "I guess it's a good thing we planned on coming to see the Captain after all. I'm really anxious to find out what he knows about Weasel."

"Why is that?" she asked, returning her gaze towards her husband.

"In all the years I've known the Captain, he never once mentioned Weasel or his operations. I can't imagine anyone like the Captain having anything to do with a man like Weasel." Deciding to lighten the mood, he took in the sites of the city and commented. "You know, I've always loved Boston in the fall."

Amanda picked up on his not-so-subtle attempt to change the topic of conversation but decided to go along with it. "You know, I've never been to Boston before. It really is gorgeous, isn't it?"

Lee warmly smiled at his wife's statement. He knew he wasn't fooling her, but he was glad she decided to go along with this route of conversation. "I'd say the view of the passenger is much more enticing than any fall foliage."

Amanda's cheeks turned a slight shade of red. She never grew tired of getting compliments from Lee, but nevertheless, they still made her blush. "You're just trying to stay on my good side, in hopes of repeating our earlier rendezvous, aren't you?" she teased.

"Well, there is that, but I also like to keep my wife informed of my true feelings. It never hurts to remind her of these things; I wouldn't want her to run off with the first young buck who asks," Lee bantered back.

A playful look of shock crossed Amanda's face. "Now, what would I want with a younger man. I've got a perfectly great, loving, dashingly handsome spy for a husband. I believe it will take me years to uncover all your secrets, and by the time I do, I'll be old and gray and what young 'buck' would want me then?" 

Shaking his head, he let out a robust laugh. "You just keep thinking that you'll find out all my secrets. I, on the other hand, still have quite a few things to uncover from my wife's past, and believe me, I know many more methods of interrogation than you do. I'll probably uncover all yours before you uncover half of mine."

"Just keep dreaming, Stetson," she smiled ruefully. "I've made quite a few friends at the Agency. And besides, I have my own ways of getting information, too. As Francine would say, I can talk a person to death." 

Lee's dimples deepened as he agreed that Amanda would definitely not have a problem talking anyone to death. "She does have a point." 

Amanda playfully smacked his arm. "Dear husband, I would refrain from taking Francine's side on that topic." Changing the subject, she asked, "How far is this place?"

"It shouldn't be too much longer. It's been a while since I visited, but I wrote down the directions before we left home." Reaching into his shirt pocket, he pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to his wife. "We should be reaching the exit shortly. I may need you to read me off the side street directions."

Ten minutes later, they pulled into the visitor's parking lot. The veteran's home was a cross between an old hospital and a retirement home. In a way it was reminiscent of the Birchwood, back in D.C., where their dear friend Rupert and the other retired agents resided.

Lee parked the Blazer and headed around to the passenger side. Amanda quickly put the directions in the glove compartment and reached behind the driver's seat. She picked up the flower arrangement she had made Lee stop for. He had insisted that the Captain wouldn't need anything, but she refused to see an old friend of Lee's without bringing something. Besides, she was pretty sure from what Lee had told her that the old man rarely had visitors, and flower's can always brighten up someone's day. With the vase in hand, she opened her door and gladly accepted Lee's assistance as she climbed out of the Chevy. Keeping her hand clasped in his, they headed towards the main entrance.

Once inside, while Lee checked in with the receptionist, Amanda walked over to the activity bulletin board and scanned through the options that the residence offered for the holiday. Hearing the young woman's poor attempt at flirting with her husband, she turned her attention back to them. A small grin crossed her lips as she watched the blonde give Lee directions to their destination.

Lee gave the all-but-drooling woman his infamous smile as he thanked her for her help, and headed over to where Amanda was standing. Handing her a visitor's tag he pointed down the hall. "Come on. The receptionist said the Captain should be in his room and that we're free to head on up."

Pinning her tag to her shirt collar, she shook her head as she took Lee's hand to head down the hallway. Lee tilted his head to the side as he watched amusement cross his wife's face. "What?"

Amanda tightened her grip on his hand as they headed down the brightly colored hallways. "I can't take you anywhere. Don't you realize the effect your Stetson charm has on women?"

Lee glanced back at the receptionist, who was now engaged in conversation on the phone. Shrugging his shoulders, he bestowed the same smile on his wife. "Her? I was just being nice."

Amanda stifled a laugh forming in her throat as they made their way to the elevator. "Mmm...hmm."

Lee began to protest her assumption. "Amanda you know that--"

Her grin widened. "I know, Lee. I'm just giving you a hard time." Deciding to change the subject, since this one obviously seemed to unnerve her husband, she turned her attention to the walls that were adorned with paintings and pictures of what appeared to be of the staff and the residents. "It's nice to see that they add a touch of home to the atmosphere. I'm sure it makes the residents feel more at ease."

"Yeah, it kind of makes you forget where you really are," Lee agreed. Once inside the elevator, he pushed the button for the third floor. "I can't wait to see the Captain. It'll be great to see him again."

Amanda turned to look at her husband. He looked like a little kid going to see Santa Clause. "You've had a lot of replacement father figures in your life, haven't you?"

Lee nodded thoughtfully. "I guess I have." 

Squeezing his hand, she laid her head on his shoulder as the elevator numbers indicated they were on the second floor. "So what did you tell him about me?"  


Lee let a small smile cross his lips. "Not too much, really. I just told him that I met this great mother of two who not only captured my heart, but also protects my rear."   
  
At that moment, the elevator doors opened. Amanda smiled and lifted her head to place a kiss on his cheek, inhaling the scent of his familiar aftershave appreciatively. Exiting, they turned left towards the Captain's quarters.

A few seconds later, they heard someone attempting to turn the door handle. As the door opened, a gray-haired man in a wheelchair looked up at Lee. "Lee, my boy! What national disaster has happened to steer you to my neck of the woods?"  


Shaking his head at the Captain's usual abrupt way with words, Lee extended his hand. "Hey, Captain. No national disasters this time. I just wanted to introduce you to my better half. She's right--"

The sharp, unexpected sound of glass shattering caused Lee to spin around, automatically dropping into a crouch and reaching for his gun. What he saw caused his trained agent reactions to relax but set his newly-learned husband instincts into high gear. Amanda's eyes were wide with shock, and her right hand was pressed against her lips, holding back what he was certain to be a scream. Rising, he took note of the shards of glass and scattered flowers surrounding her feet, the remains of the beautiful arrangement she'd been holding only moments before.  
  
The Captain's brown eyes narrowed at the sight of the brunette before him. Leaning forward in his wheelchair, he rubbed his tired eyes to assure himself that he wasn't having delusions. Looking to Lee for understanding, his voice became hushed as he asked, "Panda? It can't be my Panda?" 

Taking a few steps back from the apparition before her, Amanda closed her eyes, not wanting to believe what she saw. "No!" she gasped then fled down the hallway.

Lee stood frozen as he watched his wife retreat from the doorway, his mind trying to register the scene before him. Glancing at the pale face of his friend, he replayed the words the Captain had spoken. '"Panda?" Only her father called her that.' Looking at the gray-haired man who was now slumped dejectedly in his wheelchair, Lee decided he needed to re-affirm what had transpired before running after Amanda. 

A loud sigh escaped the Captain's mouth as he turned his wheelchair and headed for the window in his room. 

Lee followed, his voice just above a whisper as he asked, "Captain, are you going to be okay?" 

The captain looked out over the grounds of his residence. "What did you say you're wife's maiden name was?"

Lee suddenly realized that he'd never told the Captain that. He had always referred to Amanda, as "King." "Actually, her previous last name was King, but her maiden name is West."

The man nodded. "Lee, did I ever tell you that my last name is West?"

Lee's eyes grew wide as the reason for his wife's shocked reaction to seeing his friend was confirmed. "Captain, I better go find my wife." He quickly turned and headed in the direction of the stairwells.

By the time he had reached the main level, he had asked several hospital attendants if they had seen a very upset woman matching his wife's description. He got an apologetic 'no' from each of them. The receptionist, however, was more helpful and informed him that she had seen Amanda go through the doors leading to the small gardens out back. Lee thanked the young woman and headed in the direction she had pointed.

Walking through the double glass doors, he saw Amanda sitting on a white bench staring straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to anything or anyone around her. Lee quietly approached and sat down beside her. 

Amanda had felt his presence the moment he'd walked through the doors, and without hesitation, she leaned into him, pressing her head against his chest and let the tears flow. Lee wrapped one arm around her protectively and stroked her hair with the other.

"Oh, Lee," she said brokenly, pulling her head up to look into her husband's eyes. "Tell me this is some kind of a joke. Tell me that isn't my father sitting up there in that room. Please tell me it's just someone who _looks_ like my father." Her eyes pleaded with Lee for a simple explanation, but he remained quiet as he tightened his hold on her.

Amanda placed her head back on his shoulder and continued. "It took my mother and me years before we recovered from losing him and got on with our lives. I, at least, had Joe, Phillip, and Jamie; Mother was all alone. Now, he may be alive and fully aware of who I am. Why didn't he come home to us? Didn't he love us anymore? Did he think we wouldn't love _him_ anymore because he was in a wheelchair?"

"I wish I could tell you something that would make this seem easier," Lee said, his voice a comforting rumble against Amanda's ear, "but I'm afraid I know just about as much as you do." Something between anger and hurt welled up inside him. Every time someone or something brought anguish to his wife's life, the same emotions would churn in his soul. Swallowing the rush of emotions that hung in his throat, he decided to tell her what the Captain's last words were before he'd left the room. "Before I came to find you the Captain said that his last name is West. I don't know if that necessarily makes him your father, but it's a very good possibility."

Amanda lifted her head and slowly sat up straight on the bench. Her eyes still held a distant look as she focused on her husband's words, trying to make them register in her own mind. 'My father is alive--might be alive--and sitting upstairs in a wheelchair.' Shaking her head, she broke away from Lee, stood, and walked a few feet away from the bench before turning back to look at her husband. Wiping the tears from her face, she looked at Lee with eyes full of determination and a tiny glint of hope that he would agree with her. "No, it can't be. That man _is_ not my father. We buried him almost twelve years ago." 

  
Lee knew all to well how hard it was to face the past. He had to help her realize that it could be her father up in that room. "Amanda, how do you know it was your father that was buried? Casualties of war usually end up with nothing more than a head marker."

Amanda narrowed her eyes, anger welling up inside her that he was not supporting her thoughts. "That man can't be my father, Lee. He just can't!"

  
Lee rose and closed the short distance between them. He had only heard his wife's harsh tone of voice a few times in the past five years, and right now, he knew she was upset and not angry with him. His thoughts wandered to all the times he had used her as a whipping post to take out his own anger. 

Wrapping his arms around her shaking body, he whispered into her hair. "Well, then maybe we should go find out if he is indeed your father and why he's been in hiding all these years. I still need to touch base with him regarding all this business with Weasel. Do you feel up to it?"

The mention of Weasel brought Amanda out of her own brewing turmoil. Remembering that they were here on Agency business and that she needed to regain her professionalism in order to complete their assignment, she looked into her husband's eyes. "I can't say as I really feel up to this, but I guess we might as well get it over with." 

Pulling away from Lee, she brushed the stray hair from her face and took on a look of determination. Softening her tone of voice she gave Lee a half smile. "Besides, Scarecrow, the agent in me is just a tinge curious about the man upstairs. If he _is_ my father…I want to know _why _he never came home to us." 

"That's my girl." Lee smile showed his pride in her as he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. Taking her hand, they walked back into the hospital and headed towards the Captain's room.

They reached room 3C and found the door to be slightly ajar. Lee's agent training kicked in again and he motioned for Amanda to take position alongside the door. Pulling out his gun, he looked to her to see her acknowledge his request. 

Nodding her acceptance, she molded herself against the stark white wall. Lee eased the door open with his foot, using the door as a shield to what was behind it. Surveying the room, he re-holstered his gun when he spotted the Captain, alone and looking out the window, as oblivious to his surroundings as Amanda had been a few minutes before.

"Captain, are you okay?" Lee asked as he approached his friend.

Captain Nighthawk nodded and turned his wheelchair to face Lee. "Didn't your wife come back with you?"

Lee turned around to find that Amanda hadn't come back into the room yet. "Amanda, the coast is clear," he called out. 

Amanda took a deep breath and collected herself. "You'll have to face the truth sooner or later," she mumbled to herself. 

Lee was about to call her name again, when she slowly entered the room. She made eye contact with her husband but couldn't bring herself to look at the man sitting in the wheelchair.

The Captain, however, had been watching her from the minute she had walked into the room. He looked at the face of the woman who now stood a few inches from him. Tears formed in his eyes as he remembered the face of the baby girl he'd watched grow up into a beautiful young woman. 

Lee saw the look of distress on his wife's face and turned to see the look of sadness that was etched on that of his friend. If the Captain _was_ Amanda's father, then this was not easy on either one of them. Since he wasn't one to sit idly by and liked answers, he decided to break the silence. "Captain, this may seem like a very strange question, but its not one I ever thought to ask. What _is_ your full name?"

The Captain nodded his understanding. "Lee, my boy, it's not a strange question at all. I'm surprised in your line of work you never found out." Sighing, he replied in a voice just above a whisper, "My full given name is Frank Phillip West."

Lee's head turned as the sound of a barely audible gasp left his wife's lips. He saw her eyes begin to well up with tears. Afraid she might run out of the room again, he stepped forward and put his arm around her shoulder.

She looked into his eyes and shook her head. "No, Lee. It's all right, I'm not planning on leaving this room until I get the truth," she reassured him. Mustering her courage, she 

forced herself to look at the man who claimed to be her father. "Since you claim to be Frank West, can you tell me if you were ever married?"

Picking up the framed picture he was now holding in his lap, he wiped his hand over it lovingly. Looking up at the woman who looked like an older version of the little girl in the picture, he nodded. "Yes, I was. I married a woman by the name of Dorothea." A small smile came to his lips. "She always hated that name, she preferred to be called Dotty," he continued, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. He saw the look of recognition at the mention of his wife's name. "We had a beautiful little girl who was the light of my life. By the look on your face, I gather that by saying her name was Amanda won't come as any shock to you, will it?"

Shaking her head, Amanda could feel herself going weak. The man in the wheelchair, by all accounts, seemed to be her father. The scars of war had left his face disfigured and his body crippled, but his warm brown eyes were the same as she remembered when he had left them so many years ago. 

Lee could feel his wife's resistance fading, and tightened the grip he had on her shoulders. Leading her over to a nearby chair, his mind began wandering with the news he had just heard. He began to feel guilty that he'd never put any of the pieces together. He could have re-united Amanda with her father long ago if he'd only known, if he'd only asked the right questions. He was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of his wife's voice.

"If you _are_ my father, why did you let us believe you were dead? Why didn't you contact us? Did you think we couldn't handle your not having any legs? Did you think that believing you were dead would be better for us? Didn't you think Mother and I were devastated that you were killed in the war?" Amanda let the questions fire. She was no longer upset, but angry.

"Panda? Oh my god! It really is you? Besides your mother, I don't know of anyone that could talk that fast, say so much, and never take a breath." Tears began to form as he wheeled his chair over to the two. He slowly handed the picture to Lee. 

  
Taking the picture into his shaking hands, Lee recognized the soft brown eyes that peered back at him from the picture frame. He had only been privileged to see a few of Amanda's childhood photographs, but it was undeniable that this was her and the woman that had her arms around the little girl was definitely his mother-in-law.

To be continued…


	2. Giving Thanks for What We Have - Part 2

Disclaimers: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned authors. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you would like to add it to an archive, please just let us know.

Summary: This story takes place after the series has ended. It's a "sequel" of sorts to our story _"More Than Meets the Eye."_ A man from Lee's past turns Amanda's family life upside down.

Author's Notes: We did extensive research surrounding the Vietnam War and events that took place during that time. Some scenarios mentioned really did occur; we just added the wonderful world of SMK to them. Any airplane scenes mentioned we checked with a flight expert to handle any reality issues as we wrote. A very special thank you to Tammy for beta reading and being a true part of helping us write this story.

Timeframe: Thanksgiving the year they were married.

Rating: R (some suggestive situations and language)

**__**

Giving Thanks for What We Have

By Diane & Amy (Two Phantoms)

Chapter 4

Frank West looked at Lee and got the confirmation he needed by the look of love in the younger man's eyes as he touched the picture with his fingertips. "Panda, don't you think I would've gone home if I thought I had a home to go to?"

Amanda looked at the crippled man, her face showing confusion, mixed with anger. "What is THAT supposed to mean?" she shouted.

Frank hesitantly held his hand out, hoping to touch his daughter after all these years. Letting his hand fall on her arm, he tried to explain. "After my chopper was shot down, I was badly injured." Waving his hand dramatically over his body, he continued, "The scars I could handle, but I had complications with my circulation, and they had to amputate my legs at the knee joints. I was devastated that I might never fly again, that I might not be able to dance at my daughter's wedding, and that I would no longer be able to be a good husband. But, I kept focusing on you and your mother's love for me, and that kept me alive. I lay in the hospital just counting the days till I would be sent home," he paused and looked into Amanda's eyes before continuing, "Then I received the telegram."

Amanda watched the man whom she now knew to be her father, curiosity winning over anger; she let her features relax. 

The man in the wheelchair saw the change on his daughter's face and found the acceptance he needed to go on. "I was told that my wife, daughter and two grandchildren had been killed in a house fire. I was overcome with grief. I didn't want to go home, knowing I was alone and a cripple to boot. I was so devastated. The only family I had left was your Aunt Ruth, and I didn't want to be a burden to her. So, I let everyone think I was dead because, deep down, that was how I felt."

Lee remembered this story very well. He realized that the reason he'd never was able to put two and two together was that the Captain had never told him the names of his wife and daughter, only that they had died before he was to be sent home. Lee never knew or thought about the Captain having any other relatives. He had always assumed the Captain was a loner, much like himself.

New tears were forming in Amanda's eyes. Her father had thought _they_ were dead. The realization that this reunion was as much a shock to him as it was to her wiped away all traces of the anger she had felt. "Oh, Daddy!" she cried and rose from her seat and embraced the older man.

Lee leaned back against the chair, watching this scene. He felt a tremendous feeling of joy for his wife, but, at the same time, felt a bit sad at the thought that he would never get the chance to embrace his own father in such a way. 

Amanda broke the embrace and wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked over at her husband and saw the look of remorse on his face. Knowing he was missing his own father, she stood from her position and embraced Lee. "It's funny how small the world can be isn't it? Thank you for giving me back my father, Lee."

Lee was a little shocked at her words but tightened his arms around her.

"Congratulations, my boy. I don't think I could ask for a better match for either one of you," Frank stated. "I know what this joker does for a living, so I can only imagine that if he calls you his partner, you must be very good at your job. He spoke very highly of you the last few times we talked." He winked at the younger man as a smile crossed Lee's face.

"Oh, my gosh!" Amanda exclaimed, breaking away from Lee. "I never thought about that."  
  
Frank's bushy gray eyebrows furrowed together at his daughter's concerned face. "What?" 

  
Amanda tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth as she thought over the irony of the situation now at hand. Turning to look at her father, she explained, "That you would know what we do for a living. Mother and the boys don't have a clue that I work for the Agency. Heck, they don't even know that we're really married. We were going to surprise them with the news of our engagement when we got home from our trip up here." She plopped herself back into the chair and looked up at Lee, who just shrugged his shoulders and continued smiling at the older man, who was now, not just a friend, but his father-in-law, too.

"I guess I can understand the need for secrecy. Like father, like daughter. Doing what she can to help out her country." Frank's face beamed with pride.

"Speaking of our country," Lee interrupted. Talk of secrecy and work reminded him of what Bird-eye had told him. "Captain, I hate to break up this wonderful family reunion, but I need to talk some business with you. A contact of mine told me some disturbing news. A man by the name of Greg Carney, better known as 'Weasel,' is apparently back in the States. We thought he was dead, but it appears we were wrong. My informant tells me that he has some unfinished business with you."

Frank's face quickly lost all joy and now showed signs of fear. "What…do you mean? Weasel's alive?"

Lee's eyebrows furrowed as he realized that his old friend did indeed know something about Weasel. "I haven't seen him, but I have a confirmed report that he is alive and here in Massachusetts. What do you know about Weasel? I thought you were only a rescue pilot?"

Frank shook his head. "That was only one of my war duties." He wheeled his chair back and forth, as if he were pacing the floor. "When the war started, they needed good helicopter pilots to fly troops from one battle sight to the next. Realizing that my day-to-day talents could help save a few of our boys, I volunteered to take on a few of those transfer flights. As the war progressed and more and more soldiers were put into dangerous positions, I started to perform rescue missions under the cover of night. That's how I came by the nickname 'Nighthawk.'" Pausing, he looked up to see Lee absorbing his story. 

Turning his eyes to Amanda, he took a deep breath. "A lot of agents, like your husband here, got killed trying to get critical information back to the States. So, I volunteered my services to the government to help transport some of the more high-risk rescues. By the time I met up with your Secret Agent Man here, I had worked my way up in the spy business to a Delta Green 19 status." Glancing again at Lee, he smiled widely at the younger man's shocked expression. 

"I wanted to tell you that I understood all the political bull you were dealing with, but my status was a need-to-know only. I was an undercover operative. I could easily get information in out of the battlefields as I picked up our boys. Nobody would suspect that a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of guy would be involved with National Security. So, I continued performing rescue missions for the next several years."

Pausing to catch his breath, he looked from Lee to his daughter. The look of pride his daughter's eyes reflected made him straighten his shoulders as he continued his explanations of his accomplishments for the United States during the war in Vietnam.

Giving Amanda a wink, he continued, "Then in 1975, the US started sending food aide to Cambodia. One of the generals approached me, informing me that a large portion of the food wasn't reaching its proper destination. He'd found out that some high-up government officials were being paid off to leak details of flight plans for the rations to the Viet Cong supporters." The Captain rolled his chair directly in front of Lee. "They were selling the information to the Viet Cong, allowing them to intercept the supplies meant for our boys!"

Lee nodded slowly then stood. "Yeah, I know. Stan and I were sent out into the middle of all that shit to find out who was leaking the information. We met up with a friend of Khai's, another double agent. He pointed us in the direction of Weasel. We tried to convince Weasel that we wanted in on the action. He was a little leery of us at first, but after we flashed some green-backs in his face, he let us sit in on some of his 'meetings.' Then there was the incident at that bar." Pausing his assault on the defenseless floor, he looked out the window as his mind left the room.

Amanda looked curiously at her husband. "What happened, Lee?"

Lee's head jerked slightly as the voice he'd come to cherish reached through time and gently coaxed him back. Turning slowly away from the window, he met Amanda's concerned, loving gaze, and as had happened so many times in the past few years, he'd found all he'd ever wanted in life in the promise of her eyes. 

As his last comment and her subsequent question came back into focus, he feared the loss of her soft expression, so he responded, "Let's just say that I saw a side of the man that made my skin crawl." When her eyebrow rose, prompting further explanation, he sighed and looked away. "Weasel, who gave a new meaning to the term wasted, took it upon himself to brutally attack an innocent Vietnamese woman. No one would help her no matter how much she begged. Regardless of how much Stan tried to convince me that it was none of my business, I couldn't just stand by and let that son-of-a-bitch have his way with her."

Closing his eyes to the memories, he sat down on the window ledge. "I calmly went up to him and tried to reason with him." 

He paused once again and opened his eyes to look at the Captain. "He just wouldn't listen and I let my emotions get the better of me…so I gave him some of what he was dishing out. I would've killed him if Stan hadn't pulled me off and taken me outside. Fortunately, Weasel liked the feel of money in his hands and overlooked the incident, but I don't think he forgave me. He sent us on to Cambodia to meet up with two of his contacts. Stan and I split up when we reached the border. I'm positive Weasel set me up to be captured because that's when I ran into the raid."

Clearing his throat, he swallowed the nauseating feeling that was threatening to take away his breath, and continued. "I'd never witnessed such a bloodbath. Women, children, soldiers…it didn't matter what stood in their way…they were shot down like some kind of animals being taken to the slaughter." 

Looking back out the window, he clenched his fists, willing himself to continue. "That's when Khai found me. I'd been knocked out cold by a grenade blast. Khai pulled me to one of the trenches until most of the initial attack had ended." 

Amanda watched her husband's body shake as he relived the nightmare. She wanted to take him in her arms and whisper soothing words to him, but she knew by his stance that he didn't want comfort; he needed to release some of his pent up anger. 

Lee ran his left hand through his hair as his right traced the metal lines dividing the windows. "We used the bodies of …" Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the Captain, avoiding the lifeline he knew he would find in Amanda's eyes. "Well, we hid until you were able to come in and pull my ass out."

Amanda started to rise and go over to her husband. "Lee—" She settled back into her seat, however, when she caught the almost imperceptible shake of his head, saw the pain in his eyes. She knew he needed a few minutes to collect his thoughts and wouldn't open up anymore to her, until they were alone.

"I'm all right, Amanda."

Noting the exchange that passed between the couple, the Captain decided to continue the conversation at hand. "I know, I was on my way to deliver some information to one of the President's Secret Service men when I was called on to rescue you."

Leaning forward in her chair, Amanda placed her elbows on her knees and her chin in the palms of her hands. The relationship between her husband and her father dealt mostly with pain and loss, but held an air of respect, too. The similarities in the two men were remarkable, not only in their actions, but also in the unique experience that brought the two men together. "Daddy, how does this Weasel fit into the picture?"

Frank smiled warmly at his daughter's "get right to the point" attitude. In his eyes, she was still the young woman he'd left behind sixteen years ago, and her actions hadn't changed a bit. "Well, Panda, the night I was sent to rescue your husband, the documents I was carrying contained an incomplete list of names of those involved with the Viet Cong. Greg Carney, better known as the Weasel, was among those names. Because I hadn't been able to deliver the information to the agent, Weasel had a window of opportunity to go deep underground."

Lee slapped his hands together, "That's right. Shortly after that, things died down, and some of the food started getting to their destinations."

"Yep. However, a few days after you rejoined your unit, someone infiltrated my unit and killed two of our privates. Turned out they were involved in aiding the Viet Cong, but with word coming down the grapevine that the U.S. was soon pulling out of 'Nam, they wanted to cover their asses and come clean. A third private, who abandoned his fellow officers, hid out in a nearby trench until Weasel left. Fearing for his life, he came directly to us for help."

The Captain stopped and nodded at Lee's snort of disgust. Both men knew that the traitors of the war had cost many lives. "In return for safe passage home, he gave us the locations he knew of where the Viet Cong were hiding their POW's. He also told us that he had witnessed Weasel participating in the brutal deaths of his comrades as well as any innocent that stood in his way of gaining the almighty dollar. After giving us a full description of what Weasel looked like, we put the private on a plane back to the U.S. Thanks to his information, we made several successful rescues, but we were never able to find Weasel. Last we'd heard, he was killed during a raid on a Viet Cong camp." 

Sighing, he looked sadly at his daughter. "On my last rescue mission, my chopper was shot down before I made it to the P.O.W. camp. I was one of only two survivors."

Amanda sat in awe of how easily her father had put aside his own life to save others. "Daddy, you gave up so much." 

"When I woke up in the hospital, I was devastated. I was just getting over the shock of everything and looking forward to going home when I received the telegram telling me you and your mother were dead. I felt so lost and alone, I wished I'd died in the crash."

Amanda rose from her seat and once again embraced her father. "I'm glad you didn't, Daddy. If you had, then I'd never have been able to hold you again."

Frank returned the embrace. "You're right about that, my dear Panda."

Lee smiled at the two; they did bear some resemblance to each other. Since he hadn't been to see the Captain in the last six years, he never got the chance to make that distinction earlier. Clearing his throat, he got back to business. "Captain, what I don't understand is why you never went home to see to things."

Releasing his arms from around Amanda, he wheeled his chair to face his son-in-law. "Lee, I was never given the chance. The general of my unit figured that since I was privy to such important information, it was best to send me off into hiding. Since I didn't have to worry about my family's protection, it was just easier to send me here. I registered here as Captain Phillip Nighthawk. No one ever questioned it. I was a Veteran, with no family to speak of, and that was all they needed to know. I didn't care about any national security issues; I wanted to crawl into a hole and be left alone. Then, when you started to come and see me, I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I began to feel like I had someone, and I enjoyed hearing about your 'adventures.'"

Lee watched the twinkle return to Amanda's eyes as she walked towards him. "Lee, do you think that the telegram was a plant, to get my father out of the way? Make him so upset that he wouldn't think of anything but his losses?"

  
He looked lovingly at his wife. Her intuitions never ceased to amaze him. "It's possible. It's very possible. Captain, do you mind if I use your telephone? I want to call and fill our boss in on the latest details."

The Captain shook his head. "Not at all, my boy. And while you're on the phone, I can do some catching up with my daughter."

Before retreating to the phone that rested on the Captain's nightstand, Lee placed his right arm around Amanda's shoulder and quickly kissed her on the cheek. 

As he briefed Billy on the details he could in the presence of the Captain, he asked for someone to be sent to watch over his friend. Hearing the voices of his wife and father-in-law recalling the events that transpired over the past twelve years, he told Billy that he would call him later that evening and fill him in on the rest. Hanging up, he joined the small family in conversation.

Amanda briefly filled him in on the events leading up to her divorce from Joe and what fine young men his two grandsons had grown into. Frank in turn told her stories about Lee's first attempts at flying a chopper and how they didn't go well at all. Amanda patted her husband's leg as her laughter filled the room at his expense. 

After about an hour, Lee sadly told them that he and Amanda needed to head out. He wanted to get on the road before the Boston rush hour began. They said their goodbyes and promised to keep him informed of any new updates with Weasel. 

Walking to the car, Lee suddenly realized that the surprise waiting for his wife back at the White Swan, might not go over as well, now, as he had hoped it would just this morning. He helped Amanda into the car and tried to decide exactly how to break this news to his wife.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda closed her eyes to the evening sun that now penetrated the Blazer window with fiery scorn. So much had happened within the past three hours. Fighting the tears that threatened once again, she glanced over at her equally quiet husband. "It's hard to believe," she whispered.

Lee gently stroked the palm of her hand he hadn't released since entering the vehicle. Keeping his eyes on the road before him, he found his own voice cracking over the emotional scene they had just departed from. "I know."

"What am I going to tell mother? Guess what, Mother? Dad's alive and well. Well, not exactly healthy. He's in a wheelchair because of injuries he suffered in Vietnam. He's staying in a veteran's home only a few hours from our home, just as close as crows could fly. He thought that we had been consumed in a house fire. That's why he never came home to us."

"Amanda…"

"He didn't want to burden Aunt Ruth with his handicap, so he just fell off the face of the earth. Oh, and he's a retired government agent, and while I'm throwing surprises your way, I'm a spy and I'm married to a spy, and well, we just thought that you should know because you can't marry Captain Kurt because you're still married—"

"Stop it, Amanda. Stop torturing yourself." Lee pulled the Blazer to the side of the road and turned off the engine. "Of course your mother will have to be told and the boys, too. It'll be hard for them to accept, just like it is for you. But remember. I'll be there with you, and we'll take it a step at a time. Everything will be rough to start with, but things happen for a reason. Amanda, your father _is_ aliveand wants to be part of your family." Lee firmly grasped her hand and pulled it to his lips.

Amanda looked down at her hand where his promise to love her for better or worse glistened in the evening sun. "I'm sorry to take this out on you. It's just that after all these years of believing he was dead…to find out that he's alive! And to boot, you've know him for over ten years." She took a deep breath trying to regain her composure. Giving Lee a brief smile, she leaned over the console and touched her lips to his. "I'm sorry, honey. I'm doing it again. At least I have some time to sort all of this out before I have to face Mother." Settling back in her seat, she brought her hands up and rubbed her face, trying to clear her head of the thought of her mother.

Lee inhaled a large amount of air through his nose then exhaled it out his mouth. Laying his head back against the seat, he closed his eyes. "Amanda."

Amanda looked over to see her husband's worried expression. Placing her hand on his arm, she asked, "Are you okay, Lee? You look as white as a sheet." 

Lee kept his eyes closed and rolled his head from side to side on the headrest. "I've got something to tell you, and you're not going to like it." 

Amanda began to gently rub his arm in reassurance. "After this afternoon, it can't be all that bad. What is it?"

Lee opened his hazel eyes and slowly turned his head to find his wife's tear-swollen eyes inches from him. Swallowing the large lump that now blocked his airway, he managed to get his next statement out in a slight whisper. "I invited your family here tonight as an engagement surprise."

Amanda's eyes grew wide as she processed the few words Lee had uttered. "What! Right here! In Cape Cod. TONIGHT! Oh, Lee, you didn't?"

Closing his eyes to the imminent onslaught of words his wife was sure to have, Lee nodded his response and let his head roll back against the headrest. After a few moments of silence, he opened his eyes to the sound of the car door opening. "Amanda...Amanda! Wait up!" he exclaimed as he grabbed his coat and exited the car.

Amanda slowly walked through the vast number of tombstones that spread through the open field before her. Looking at each marker as she passed, she gently ran her fingers over the cold stones. 

Lee followed close behind, remaining quiet on the outside but cursing himself in his thoughts. 'Of all the places to stop, I had to pick a war memorial graveyard.' He ran his left hand through his hair and continued his silent observation of his wife. 

Amanda stopped when she noticed a woman, possibly in her early sixties, kneeling beside a fresh grave. In her shaking hands, she held a bouquet of fragile yellow roses to place on the tombstone before her. 

Lee stepped behind Amanda and enfolded her in his strong arms. He had shielded her many times over the past five years with his body, but now there was nothing he could physically do to protect her from the fear, hurt, and knowledge that she currently faced. 

Amanda leaned back against his chest and watched the grieving woman. "Did I tell you that Mother still goes to Daddy's grave site and places a fresh arrangement of orchids there every month?"

Lee tightened his embrace. "No."

"Daddy loved…loves orchids, especially the 'Dancing Doll.' He would get serious when he tended to his bed of flowers. He used to tell me if you looked close at the blooms, they looked like little ladies in full yellow skirts. I can remember that Daddy would tease Mother mercilessly about the flowers when there was a soft breeze blowing and the blooms would dance in the air. He would sweep her off her feet and insist they join the 'dance of the flowers,' and Mother would finally give in, and they would laugh and dance the afternoon away."

Lee gently brushed the hair from her shoulder and rested his chin in its place. "They were very much in love, weren't they?"

Amanda tilted her head to rest against his. Enjoying the feel of his soft strands of hair brushing against her face. "Yes." She paused and glanced at the woman placing the roses one-by-one on the loose dirt that covered her loved-one's body. "Mother doesn't know that I know she still visits him. I used to visit his grave, too, to talk things over with him." She shrugged lightly against her husband's chest. "It just seemed right." 

She paused again as she watched the woman slowly stand from the ground, clutching an American flag to her chest as tears cascaded down her face. The woman looked over to her and Lee, the November wind catching her long strands of gray hair, twisting them in her anguished face. They watched as she straightened her grieving shoulders with pride for the one she had lost and retreated slowly to her car.

Amanda turned in Lee's embrace to face him. "A few weeks ago, when I went to visit Daddy's grave, Mother was there. She didn't see me, and I felt as if I was spying on her, but I stayed and listened. She was telling Daddy about Captain Kurt. About how she had to move on in her life, and that even though she loved Kurt, she would never love another man as she did him." 

"Your father was…is… her soul mate." Lee stated calmly as he brushed a stray tear from her cheek.

Amanda placed her hand over his, where it now rested on her cheek. "Yes. I can understand what she lost with Daddy now that I have you." She released his hand and pressed her head against his chest.

Lee tucked her head beneath his chin and gently stroked the soft wisps of her brown hair. He closed his eyes as a shudder passed through his body at the thought of losing his own soul mate one day. He had always respected Dotty and loved her unconditionally because she was the mother of the woman he loved, but he had a new understanding of the woman now. She had lost part of herself many years ago, in just an instant during the insane war that wasn't a war, and now she was just beginning to put her life back on track towards true happiness. How would all of this affect her? 

"We need to go, honey. It's going to be dark soon, and your mother and the boys will be arriving in a few hours." Lee gently moved her around to his side and, his arm protectively around her shoulders, guided her back to the car. Tonight wasn't going to be filled with the happiness of their engagement announcement as he had hoped. 

Helping her into the car, Scarecrow suddenly felt as if someone was watching him. He turned back to the graveyard and scanned the area, his eyes narrowed at the empty sea of tombstones before him. Closing her door and giving it a soft tap, his eyes remained alert to his surroundings. Not only did he have to help his new family deal with the past, but he had to protect them from the future. With what Nighthawk had told him, along with the information of Weasel's return, this happy family gathering was turning into a real nightmare.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda looked at the large windows of the old white frame house. In this night of revelations and reunions, they seemed to call out a welcome to lost travelers as oil lamps flickered in the darkness of the night. As they pulled into the parking lot of the White Swan, she caught sight of her two sons standing next to a shiny white Cadillac. Her eyes softened at the thought of her father being a once-lost traveler who would now have his family returned to him. 

The familiar sight of the two teenage boys arguing over who was going to carry what luggage in encouraged Lee that some things would never change. It was time to help his new family deal with the events of the day. Reaching for his wife's hand, he placed a brief kiss on her lips for reassurance. "I guess it's time for me to start practicing my step-fatherly skills."

A nervous laugh found its way from Amanda's lips as she looked over at her sons. "Yep.

I'd say tonight will be filled with you getting experience in all the things that come along with a ready-made family."

Lee gave her hand a tight squeeze. "No time like the present." Feeling her rings press against the palm of his hand, he remembered that they still wore their wedding bands. "Amanda, we need to take off our wedding rings."

"You're right. Mother is sure to want to see my engagement ring; we'd have a lot more to explain if she saw our wedding bands." They both removed the rings, and Lee gave his to Amanda who placed both rings in the change portion of her wallet. Reaching over, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before exiting the Blazer. He quickly walked around to the passenger side to help his wife out of the car. With her right hand firmly clasped in his left, they went to break apart the small argument brewing between the boys.

Releasing Amanda's hand, Lee stepped behind his oldest stepson who was struggling to get his grandmother's huge suitcase up the steps. "Mind if I help you out with that?"

A warm feeling of acceptance rushed through Lee's body as the young man turned with a brilliant smile etched across his features. "Lee! Boy, am I ever glad to see you. I think Grandma packed the kitchen sink in this thing." 

Jamie and Amanda soon joined the pair on the steps, carrying more of Dotty's luggage. Amanda gave her husband a slight shove with the duffle bag she was trying to balance herself with. "If you two don't get a move on, we're not going to get the car unloaded until Christmas."

The loud outburst of laughter brought Dotty and Captain Kurt out to the front porch to investigate. Dotty pushed her way around the small bunch heading through the door to find her daughter. 

Embracing her with all the strength she possessed, Dotty exclaimed, "Sweetheart! I know we're early, but I just couldn't wait to see you. I've been busting at the seams all week not to tell you that I already knew he was going to do this!" She paused to place a kiss on her daughter's cheek and noticed the tired look on Amanda's face, and the signs of recent tears. "Amanda, dear, is everything all right?" Dotty asked, breaking the embrace. Putting her hands on her hips, she glared directly at Lee. "You did ask her, didn't you? If you didn't, and we traveled up here for nothing, I'm gonna make sure you get a one-way ticket to Guatemala."

Before Lee could answer, Amanda took a deep breath and defended her husband. "Yes, Mother, he did ask, and I accepted." 

Lee rolled his eyes and gave his wife a thankful smile. Casting a brief glance towards the remaining men on the porch, he mumbled, "Does this whole family have a thing about South America?"

  
Dotty beamed with joy once again. "Oh, Amanda! You had me worried for a minute." She then walked quickly over to Lee and pulled him into a tight embrace. Lee wasn't prepared and dropped the suitcase he'd been carrying, as he returned the hug. 

Breaking apart, Dotty turned back to Amanda. "I've been so excited about Lee finally popping the question. He's so old fashioned! Did you know that he came to the house, when you worked late last Monday, and wanted to talk things over with the boys and me? He asked the boys for permission to marry you. I thought I would just die on the spot. He's so wonderful, and the boys are just thrilled with the idea of having him around all the time. We have so much to plan, and this works out just perfect. He'll be moving in with you just as I'm moving out with Kurt. I'm so happy for you both." She once again took Amanda in her arms for a renewed hug.

Shaking his head, Lee was once again reminded of just where his wife's gift for gab was inherited. With the help of Captain Kurt, who was equally amazed at the rush of words flowing from Dotty's mouth, Lee managed to finish gathering the suitcases and usher the boys into the Bed and Breakfast. He knew Amanda would need time alone with her mother to explain the events of the day.

Chapter 5

No matter how hard she tried, Amanda couldn't keep up appearances. The weight of her other news was beginning to takes its toll. Her voice was barely above a whisper as she tightened her arms around her mother. "Mother, we need to talk."

Dotty's eyes widened, and she felt fear strike her heart, as mothers do whenever they hear hurt in their children's voices. Loosening her arms from around her daughter, Dotty stepped back to look into Amanda's eyes. "Amanda, honey. What's wrong? Everything _is_ okay between you and Lee, isn't it?"

Nodding her head yes, Amanda took her mother's hand and headed for the two empty rockers at the end of the porch. "Lee and I are just fine, Mother." Once they were seated, Amanda proceeded to show her mother the beautiful engagement ring Lee had given her over a year ago.

Dotty gasped with pride when she saw it. "It's beautiful, dear. If everything is okay, then why do you look like someone just died?"

Amanda sighed. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to break the news to her mother. "It's not exactly that, but…Oh gosh, how do I put this to you--"

A sudden banging of the front screen door interrupted her. Jamie stood before his mother, hands waving. "Hey, Mom. When are we going to go eat? Lee said he made arrangements for us to go to some fancy restaurant not far from here." 

Dotty shook her finger at her youngest grandson. "James King, this is your mother's special weekend. You need to mind your manners."

Jamie shrugged his shoulders and started back towards the door. "Sorry, Mom."

Amanda smiled at the disappointed figure leaving in defeat. "I'm starved, too, Jamie. Those I.F.F. people wouldn't give us time to even eat lunch today. Go tell Lee and the others to get ready to go soon." 

Dotty placed her hand on her daughter's knee as the sound of the door slamming again echoed over the front lawn. "Amanda, what's wrong?"

Amanda placed her hand over her mother's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Nothing, Mother. I guess it's just that I.F.F has found a few more things for us to deal with while we're here. Lee and I won't get to spend a lot of time with you, the boys, or Captain Kurt tomorrow."

Dotty rose from her chair and stood before her daughter, relief written all over her face. "Is that all? I'm used to that by now! Goodness, sweetheart, I thought it was something serious. Come on, let's get settled in and change clothes. I can't wait to see where that handsome man of yours is taking this bunch to dinner."

Amanda pulled her sweater closed and stood to follow her mother in. Deciding she needed a few more minutes to herself, she stopped at the door. "Go on in, Mother. I forgot something in the car. I'll be inside in just a minute."

Dotty placed a soft kiss on her daughter's cheek and entered the house. Amanda listened to the ever-present chatter of her mother giving instructions to her grandsons to finish unpacking the car, and then for them to proceed to change into their Sunday best for dinner. Amanda chuckled at the sounds of protests that escaped her children's mouths. She turned to head into the house to help encourage her wayward teenagers to listen to their grandmother but paused as she heard the familiar deep voice of her husband coming to her mother's rescue. 

After convincing the boys that they should do as their grandmother requested, Lee decided to go and find his missing wife. He noted the carefree expression his mother-in-law wore and decided perhaps he should see what transpired between the two women. Upon exiting the house, he found her leaning against one of the tall white pillars of the porch. Her arms were embracing her thin form as the cold air nipped at the wisps of hair at base of her neck. Stepping behind her and encircling her with his own arms, he waited for her to speak.

Amanda leaned into the broad shoulders of her husband and exhaled the breath she'd been holding. "I couldn't tell her tonight. She's too excited about us. I'll tell her in the morning after a good night's sleep."

Still encircling her waist with his arms, he took her hands in his. "I understand, Amanda. I think maybe you did the right thing."

Amanda tilted her head back to look into the hazel eyes of the man she had come to depend on for extra support over the years. "I love you."

Lee leaned his head down so that his mouth was close to her left ear. "I love you, too. Let's go enjoy our night, and then we can deal with what tomorrow brings." 

Turning in their embrace, Amanda placed her hands on his shoulders and rewarded him with a seductive smile. "I don't think we'll have as much fun tonight as we did last night."

The dimples deepened in Lee's face at the playfulness that had returned to his wife's words. "Nope. You're right about that. And before you start to worry, while we were out today I had my things moved to another room, which I'll share with Captain Kurt. Your mother's things are in our room from last night, and the boys have a room in between the two of us. I figured they can't get into too much trouble without their super spy step-dad hearing them."

Amanda pulled her hands from her husband's shoulders and placed them on her hips. "What about their super spy mom?"

Lee leaned his head back as he released a thunderous laugh at his wife's obvious frustration with his words. "I figured you would be too busy dealing with your mother and her non-stop excitement about us finally 'tying the knot.'"

Amanda playfully smacked him on his stomach and joined him in laughter. "I guess we'd better get inside and get ready."

Lee's face turned serious as he looked over the parking lot. "You go ahead, honey. I need to call Billy and give him an update. I'll use the phone in the Blazer so Kurt won't wonder what in the hell I'm talking about."

Amanda was all too aware of the look her husband now held in his eyes. Turning to look at where his eyes were now focused, she whispered, "What is it, Lee?"

Lee pulled her to him and placed a soft kiss on her head. "Nothing. Probably just my senses on overload with all that's going on."

Amanda squirmed loose from his embrace with a determined look on her face. "I don't think I've ever known you to have a sensory overload. What is it?"

Lee looked into the determined eyes before him and couldn't resist the urge to tease her. "Oh, I can remember a few times over the past year that my senses have gone into overload. As a matter of fact, _you_ were the reason."

Amanda placed her hands back on her hips and tried her best to hide the smile that was forming. "You can't wiggle your way out of this with compliments, Stetson. What gives?"

Shaking his head, Lee placed his hand on her elbow and led her down the steps towards the parking lot. Once out of earshot of the house, Lee ran his left hand through his hair as he leaned against the black Blazer. "I'm just being a little cautious with Weasel lurking around somewhere. Your dad may have had a few rounds with him, but I know Weasel would really like to rake me over the coals for a few things that happened back in 'Nam."

Amanda stood directly in front of her husband with her eyes wide, observing their surroundings. "You don't think he would try something here, do you?"

Reaching out, he placed his hands around her waist and pulled her to rest against his body. "Amanda, you know that in the line of business we're in, the one thing you can be sure of is the unexpected. I'll give Billy a call and have him make arrangements for us to have a few extra eyes around, just to be sure that our family is as safe as possible." 

Amanda's body relaxed with the thought of having her family protected by the Agency. "I guess I'd better go check on the boys and make sure they're getting ready." She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked him square in the eyes. "Will you be all right by yourself, tonight?" 

A wide smile crossed his face at his wife's unfading protective nature. "Yes, I'll be fine. Now get back in there and get our family ready for our night of celebration." Lee pushed himself from the Blazer with his back and placed his hands on her arms. "I feel like we'll need the memories of this morning to hold us over for the next few days."

Amanda placed a quick kiss on his cheek then turned to head inside. "Hurry up and make your phone call. You know how I hate to be kept waiting."

Before she was an arm's length away from him, he reached out with his left hand and gave her butt a playful smack before quickly retreating to the other side of the car. "Oh, I promise to be in as fast as I can."

Amanda spun around with the feel of his hand on her ready to return the favor but found she was too late as she watched the mischievous smile of her husband's face disappear into the car. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda watched as her mother and Captain Kurt turned down the path beside the house that headed down to the beach. Her mother's laughter filled the air even after they had been gone from her sight a few minutes. The evening of celebrating their engagement had been perfect. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she pulled her knees to her chest. Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind to drift as she felt the soothing motion of the large porch swing beneath her. 

'How am I going to tell my mother that her husband is still alive? I can tell by the way that she looks at Captain Kurt that she loves him, and he's the one who has finally made her happy after all these years. Will she want to go back to Daddy, or has too much changed in her life over the years? She's definitely not the same woman she was fifteen years ago." Amanda opened her eyes and looked up at the crescent moon peering through the now-forming clouds. "We've all changed, Daddy. I'm not the little girl you left behind, Mother's not the woman you left behind, and the world as you knew it doesn't exist anymore.' 

Amanda's reverie was interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching the front porch. Putting her legs down to the floor, her body tensed in anticipation of the possibilities of who might be approaching.

Relaxing at the newly-familiar face of the man who now stepped onto the porch, a friendly smile crossed her face. "Good evening, sir." 

The man walked over and took a seat in one of the chairs beside the swing Amanda was enjoying. "Good evening." Turning to look at his surroundings, the man continued, "Beautiful night, isn't it? I would've assumed your husband would be out here enjoying it with you."

Amanda could feel the heat rise to her face, remembering the discussion she and Lee had been having when she had first noticed the man that morning. "My _fiancé_ is upstairs tucking my two boys in. We came here this weekend to celebrate our engagement with our…my family."

Nodding his understanding of her words, he rose from his seat. "Ahh…a simple mistake on my behalf. Sometimes things are not as they seem. Are they, Amanda?" 

Amanda tilted her head to the left as she watched him turn to leave. "Have we met before?" 

Stopping his track to the door, he turned back to face her. "I don't think so. I overheard you and your husband…sorry…fiancé, this morning. Forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Richard Fire."

Amanda's eyebrows furrowed together at his explanation of knowing who she was. His eyes held a slight twinkle of knowledge. A twinkle that told that he knew far more than what he had gathered from the conversation he'd overheard that morning. "Nice to meet you."

Tipping his hat to her, he continued to the door and opened it. "Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. King." With that said, he left Amanda on the porch to ponder his comments as the door clicked closed behind him. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee lowered his head slightly, narrowing his eyes as he looked at his two teenage stepsons. They were trying desperately to make him see their side of wanting to stay up and see the sites of the area. Running his left hand through his hair, he took a seat at the table near the door. Looking at his watch, he rubbed his eyes. It was already approaching eleven o'clock, and he wanted a few minutes alone with his wife before Kurt and Dotty returned. 

Deciding it was time to end their feeble attempts to win him over to their side, he cleared his throat and tried out his new parental authority. "Look, you two. It's time to go to bed. Your grandmother and Kurt have big plans for you tomorrow."

Phillip joined him at the table, eyes wide with excitement from the evening's activities. "Aw, come on, Lee. Just one more hour, and then we promise to hit the sack."

Jamie soon followed suit and joined the two at the table. "It would be very educational for us if you and Mom were to take us out and show us some of the historical sites around here tonight."

Lee looked at Jamie then Phillip. "At eleven o'clock at night!"

Phillip propped his elbows up on the table as a wide smile of mischievousness crossed his face. "Yeah, man. That's when all the babes are out."

Jamie smacked Phillip on the arm at that comment. "Way to go, Dufus."

Lee rolled his eyes at the brotherly "love" they shared. "Babes, huh?" 

Phillip scooted his chair closer to Lee. "Yeah. When we were at the restaurant tonight, there was this blonde girl sitting at the table beside us. I got to talk to her for a few minutes while you and Mom were all google-eyed at each other. Her name is Sarah, and she's staying a few blocks from here."

Lee's face cringed at Phillips choice of words. "Google-eyed?" 

Jamie nodded in agreement with Phillip's description. "Yeah, you know how you and Mom get when you're all caught up in that love thing."

A robust laugh erupted from Lee at the boys' description of him and Amanda. His attention fell back to Phillip. "I'm surprised you even noticed tonight with that blonde girl beside you."

Phillip shrugged his shoulders. "We're used to you two by now. So, can we stay up for awhile?"

Lee watched the twinkle ignite in Phillip's eye. His mother's eyes held the very same light when she was trying to convince him of something. Shaking his head, he stood. "Not tonight, boys. Get ready, and go to bed. I'll make sure you get to visit your little friend tomorrow, Champ."

Jamie stood to follow Lee to the door. "Lee, could we get a snack before we go to bed? I'm hungry."

Phillip quickly followed at the mention of food. "Yeah, me too. If I _have_ to go to bed, you don't want me to starve to death before morning."

Rubbing his stomach, Lee's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "You two have got to be kidding. I know for a fact that you both choked down a salad, two steaks, and least one baked potato each. God knows how many bread rolls. And then you ravaged the dessert cart. You can't seriously be hungry!"

Phillip pulled up his shirt in protest to Lee's obvious reluctance to feed them yet again. "Oh, come on, Lee. We're wasting away. You can even see my ribs!"

Lee looked at Phillip and then turned to Jamie's pleading expression. "Oh, all right! Go down to the kitchen and ask Lorna, the woman who runs things, if she can find something for you. But don't pester her. And…I expect you to be back up here, in bed with the lights out, in thirty minutes! I'll be back up to check on you then."

Phillip and Jamie pushed past him to get out the door before he changed his mind. 

"I _will_ be back to check on you." Lee called after the boys who were quickly headed down the steps.

Lee closed the door to the boys' room and slowly followed their lightening path towards the steps. He had every intention of finding his wife, checking on the boys, then heading back to her room for a little goodnight kiss before Dotty and Kurt returned. Hearing the boys asking Lorna for cheeseburgers made Lee wonder, once again, just how Amanda ever made it as a single mother having to feed those two. 

"We may have to buy a farm, or at least a cow to put in the back yard, to feed those two next year," Lee mumbled as he opened the door that led out to the front porch. He stopped in his tracks at the shivering form of his wife standing before him. 

"Lee, I was just coming in."

Lee stepped back for her to enter. "You're blue, Amanda." Before she was all the way through the door, he pulled her into a bear hug and quickly closed the hardwood door. 

"Come on. Let's get you warmed up."

Amanda greedily accepted the heat from his body and wrapped her arms around him as they walked into the living room. "I didn't know I was so cold until I stood up to check on you and the boys."

Lee maneuvered them towards the overstuffed couch and gently guided them to sit on the soft beige cushions. "Amanda, you're still shivering." Pulling the patchwork quilt from the back of the couch, he draped it around her shoulders, snuggling it up under her chin. 

Amanda warmly smiled her thanks as she leaned her head onto his right shoulder. Lee wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Lee, did you know the man we saw on the front porch this morning before we left to go to the hospital?"

"No, I don't think so? Why?" Lee tilted his head to look at her face.

"He was outside tonight, a few minutes before you came down. He knew my name was Amanda. Then when I asked him how, he said he overhead us talking this morning."

Lee brought his left hand up to her face and gently stroked her cheek with his fingers. "It's extremely possible that that is where he heard it."

Amanda lifted her head slightly so she could look into his eyes. "I don't know. I've just got a weird feeling about him. He thought we were married and then he called me 'Mrs. King' when he said goodnight. I'm not sure what it is, but he just set a few alarms off in my head."

Lee stilled his hand against her cheek and gently nudged her to relax against his shoulder. "I know you and your instincts. I'll check him out in the morning."

Amanda absorbed the reassurance of his words, and her body relaxed against him as his warm, protective presence swirled around and through her senses. It was wonderful to have this strong, loving man a part of her life; the boys were going to benefit from a male presence as well. Thinking of the boys, she realized she wanted to know how things had gone. "So, how did it go with the boys?"

Lee rolled his eyes, and Amanda could feel the rumble of laughter in his chest. "Let's just say that they're really getting good at seeing just how far they can push me."

Amanda nodded against his shoulder and placed her hand on his chest. "You knew they would."

Lee tucked her head under his chin. "Yep. They just don't know that I do have some experience under my belt." When Amanda shifted against him, he tightened his embrace and continued, "You know, all those times I've had to negotiate with terrorists."

Amanda swatted his stomach with her hand. "They're not terrorists, Lee."

"Ow! It's not nice to abuse you're husband like that." Lee rubbed his injured stomach with his left hand. "Well, I must say that your sons do seem to know a few things about getting what they want."

As if knowing the topic at hand involved them, the two teenage boys entered the living room, each with one hand holding a greasy cheeseburger and the other a Pepsi. Phillip took a big bite of his and proceeded to stand in front of Lee. With his mouth half full, he extended his cheeseburger towards Lee. "These are really good. Lorna said it was no trouble at all. She was glad to keep us from starving to death. You want me to see if she'll fix you one?" 

Lee closed his eyes momentarily from the vision of the oozing monstrosity before him. "No thanks, I'll just save my appetite for breakfast."

Phillip shrugged his shoulders and started back towards the stairs with Jamie close behind. "Mom says you don't eat breakfast."

Lee's eyes snapped towards his wife at the sound of her chuckling. "Well, I usually don't."

Jamie waved the hand holding the Pepsi over his shoulder in lieu of a goodnight and then nudged his brother. "I bet Mom changes that."

Phillip eagerly nodded his agreement. "Yep. Goodnight, Mom! Goodnight, Lee!"

Jamie followed him up the steps. "Yeah, goodnight. See ya'll in the morning."

Lee pulled his arm from Amanda's waist and stood as he watched the two boys troop up the stairs. "I'll be up in a minute to _make_ _sure_ you're settled in."

Amanda reluctantly unwrapped herself from the warmth of the quilt and followed suit, rubbing hand on his arm as she followed him to the stairwell. "We'd better get some sleep too. Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

Lee turned his hazel eyes to look at his appealing wife. "Bedroom, yes. Sleep, no."

A slight shiver of anticipation flowed through her body at the look of lust evident in his eyes. "Mother will—"

Lee grabbed her hand and headed up the steps. "Not for a little while."

They stopped before Jamie and Phillip's door. "I'm going to go get ready for bed while you make sure 'our' boys are snug as a bug in a rug." 

Lee pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Mmm…," he growled softly, "I like the sound of that."

Pleasure lit Amanda's eyes. "I'm glad," she said, almost breathless from his nearness. "I do too."

Placing his lips on her neck, Lee began nibbling his way up to her ear. "I'll help you get ready; just wait on me."

Pulling back, she gave him an innocent smile. "Why, whatever are you proposing?"

A wicked grin crossed Lee's face. "You just get to your room, missy, and I'll be there shortly to show you just what I mean."

Amanda raised her eyebrows and gave him a mock bow then retreated down the hall. 

Lee inhaled a deep breath and stood quietly a moment before opening the door to the room. To his surprise, both boys were already in bed, and the lights out. Waiting a minute to see if they were playing tricks on him, he leaned against the doorframe. Seeing Phillip's covers move slightly, he walked over to the beds. "Goodnight, boys."

"Goodnight, Lee" The two replied in unison.

Lee walked back to the door and closed it quietly behind him. "They just don't know who they're dealing with."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda was pulling her flannel gown over her head when she heard the door handle click in the bedroom. Butterflies attacked her stomach at the thought of her husband's intentions. She turned on the water in the sink and began to wash her face. Trying to continue his game from earlier, she acted as if she hadn't heard him enter. 

Lee slipped up behind her and wrapped his hands around her stomach, the feel of the flannel under his fingers brought pleasant thoughts to mind. "You know…," Lee's left hand began to slide up to her breast. "You're the sexiest when you're dressed in nothing but flannel, including no makeup."

Amanda leaned her head back against his chest, her hands massaging his thighs. "Mmm…I think you're the sexiest when you just get out of the shower and the moisture is still clinging to all your muscles."

Lee brushed his right hand against her neck and gently moved her hair off her right shoulder while his left hand began to tease the nipple of her breast through the fabric of her gown. "Want to take a shower?"

Amanda turned in his embrace, meeting his passion-filled eyes with her own. "I don't think we have time." 

Waggling his eyebrows, Lee pulled her hard against him. "Let's just skip the shower and get to the good stuff."

Amanda smiled as she took his hand in hers and led him to the king-sized bed. Pulling him down with her, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Lee hungrily possessed her mouth with his as he supported his weight with his arms. When they broke apart for air, Lee rolled over to his left side and began to unbutton the brown objects that kept the material gathered around her neck. "I don't think you'll be needing this to keep you warm."

Amanda placed her hand over his to stop his rapid work. "Mother will be here anytime now, and the boys are in the next room."

Lee placed a wet kiss on her hand. "I promise to be quiet and just look. I won't touch." 

Amanda felt her body betraying her as his hand found the warmth of her left breast. She closed her eyes as she felt his breath on her neck. "I thought you said only looking."

Lee looked up into her flushed face. "Can I help it if you're so intoxicating and I can't think straight?"

Amanda shook her head and gently removed his skilled, masculine hand from inside her gown. Only to find that his reaction time was much quicker than hers as he replaced his hand with his mouth. A soft moan escaped her lips as he began to suckle her wanting breast. "Lee…"

Lee's body tensed at the sound of the doorknob turning. Quickly rolling from the bed and keeping his back to the door, he began to straighten his clothes the best he could. Amanda hastily found the bed covers and jerked them up around her neck just as the ceiling light flashed on. 

Dotty stopped just inside the door and smiled at the two startled lovers. A soft laugh escaped her lips as the image of a deer caught in headlights came to her mind. "Am I interrupting something?"

Amanda looked up at her lover to see his eyes closed and jaw clenched as he ran his hands over the fresh wrinkles in his shirt. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm the raging emotions that her husband's touch had imbedded in her body. "Oh, no, Mother. Lee was just tucking me in for the night." 

Dotty gave them both a knowing look. "I see. Well, I'm just going to change clothes in the bathroom so you two can say goodnight properly." She turned her back to them as she opened her suitcase and started to dig for her bedclothes.

Taking a final calming breath, Lee opened his eyes and focused on the pillow near the edge of the bed. "I was just leaving, anyway, Dotty." Looking down at his wife's disheveled hair, sparkling brown eyes, and rosy lips, he felt the heat that had momentarily started to calm quickly rising back up through his body. Raking his left hand through his hair, he shut his eyes, trying to imagine anything but the curves and secret hollows of the body that lay in the bed before him. 

"Goodnight, Lee." Amanda's soft whisper sent quick shudders through his body as he opened his eyes to see gentle laughter dancing in hers. 

As he bent over to kiss her goodnight, he placed his left hand on the other side of her on the bed and then proceeded to brush her cheek with his right. Slowly descending his mouth to hers, his breath caressed the slightly exposed skin of her neck. Amanda sucked in her own breath as she looked into his passion-filled eyes. 

Softly brushing his lips across hers, he lingered momentarily. Inhaling the scent of her body that would fill his dreams, his whispered words were deep and filled with longing. "Sleep well, Amanda." 

Amanda placed her hand on his arm, her voice cracking as she tightened her grip. "You too, Lee."

Lee stood and ran his left hand through his hair as he started to exit the room. "Goodnight, Dotty."

Dotty had picked up her clothes and was headed to the bathroom, never looking at the flustered couple behind her. "Goodnight, Lee." Before closing the door, however, she couldn't resist teasing her son-in-law-to-be. "The ocean water is quite cold tonight if you want to go for a swim." 

Lee shook his head and opened the bedroom door. "I'll keep that in mind." He gave Amanda one last look before he exited and went to join Kurt in the other room.

As he slowly closed the door to his wife's room, the images of her soft body under his hands fresh in his mind. Sighing heavily, he resigned himself to the fact that his night would be spent with Captain Kurt, and not with his gorgeous wife. Mumbling under his breath, he started to make his way to his quarters. "It would have to be my bright idea to invite the whole family up here."

Hearing the unmistakable laughter of his stepsons, he stopped to investigate. Giving the door a firm knock, he opened it. "Everything all right in here, boys."

Jamie and Phillip looked up from where they sat on the floor with expressions of complete horror that they had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. 

"Yes, sir," Jamie whispered.

Closing the door behind him, Lee stepped into the room. "I'm serious, guys. You need to get to bed. You don't want your mother worrying all night that you might sneak out or that you're not getting enough sleep for tomorrow."

"No, sir," Phillip answered.

Lee nodded his approval as he watched the two climb into bed. "Goodnight, boys." With that he closed the door and continued his way to his room.

"You like him telling us what to do?" Phillip rolled on his side and looked at his brother.

Jamie gave his brother a crooked smile. "I think it's kind of neat that he actually cares enough to check up on us."

"Yeah. I guess you're right. Goodnight, Dufus."

"Stop calling me 'dufus,' and goodnight to you too, Phillip."

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda closed her eyes, trying to gain control over the sudden cravings racing through her body caused by her husband's simple touch. Clicking on the nightstand lamp, she picked up a magazine from the table and tried to take her mind off her husband.

A short time later, Dotty emerged from the bathroom and turned off the overhead light before slipping in bed beside her daughter. "Sweetheart, don't feel like you have to cover up your actions with Lee, for my benefit. I'm not too old to know what goes on between couples in love. I'm happy you two are getting married. He's good for you."

Amanda rolled onto her right side, facing her mother. "I love you, Mother."

Dotty gently stroked her 'little' girl's hair. "I love you, too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mother." Amanda reached back and turned out the small lamp. 

Dotty rolled over to face the window. "Sweet dreams, Amanda."

Amanda closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around the pillow she held at her chest. "You too, Mother. You, too." She closed her eyes and tried her best to fall asleep as visions of her mother's reactions to the news that her father was still alive raced through her mind.

Chapter 6

Amanda traced the deep scratch embedded in the dark cherry wood dining table with her left index finger as she listened to the idle talk of her family. Her mind reflected on who had placed it there and what other families had shared this table many times before her family joined the list. Hearing her name mentioned in the conversation, she picked up her hot cup of morning tea and glanced up to see her sons devouring what was left of their breakfasts. A warm feeling ran through her veins as she watched them in their morning ritual of teasing each other. 

Feeling her husband's eyes watching her, she graced him with a soft smile, and he returned her smile tenfold. As she watched his eyes wander back to her two sons, she thought back to the lecture she'd given him before breakfast. 'Lee Stetson, you need to set a good example for your sons. Coffee does not cut it for breakfast. Could you at least choke down a Danish or something with some substance to it?' Amanda knew his thoughts as she watched his eyes dart to his stepsons as they ordered more biscuits. A soft chuckle escaped her lips at the comment he'd given her after her 'speech' that morning. 'Amanda, the only example your sons need about eating is maybe to stop before their stomachs explode.'

Hearing his wife's soft laugh, Lee turned his eyes back on her and gave her a lavish wink. Shrugging her shoulders at her sons' request for more food, she turned her attention to her mother and Captain Kurt. Remembering what the day's events held, her features immediately turned serious. A slight shudder replaced the warm feelings she had as she pondered the upcoming conversation she'd managed to put off until now. 

Seeing Amanda's expression change, Lee knew that the time had come for him to take Captain Kurt and the boys out for a while. Standing up, he proceeded to walk behind Phillip and place his hand on his shoulder. "Kurt, if you're done, what do you say we take the boys outside and do some exploring of the grounds?" 

Jamie turned his head to look at the man who now stood behind his brother. A wide, approving grin etched across his face. Turning his attention back to his mom, he asked, "Mom, is that okay with you?"

Looking at the excitement her sons held at the thought of spending time with Lee eased her tension. Nodding in response, she tried to put a serious expression on her face. "Go on and have fun, but remember…behave yourselves. Lee's in charge while you guys are out and about, understand?" After receiving a reluctant nod from both boys, she started to turn her attention towards her husband, who had moved from behind the boys and was walking toward her, and then turned back to her sons. "Wrap those biscuits in a paper napkin, young men," she warned as she watched her sons raiding the basket the waitress had just brought to the table. 

"Aw, Mom," Jamie grumbled, but he took the napkin Phillip handed him, and between them, they quickly emptied all of the fresh biscuits and made two "doggie bags."

Amanda smiled as she watched them head for the door, then tipped her head up and closed her eyes as Lee leaned down to kiss her cheek. When she opened them, again, she gave him a serious look. "Don't let them get away with _everything_, Lee. You don't have anything to prove."

Taking advantage of being so close to her, he pulled her hair back from her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "I'll keep them in line. Remember, I've had formal training in the art of exploring and a very good teacher in the art of parenting." Placing a quick kiss on her lips, he stood and followed the two boys out of the room. 

Remembering the chill in the air, she turned in her seat and called after them. "Oh, Lee! Make sure they grab their coats and the new hats you got them at the restaurant last night, okay?" 

Popping his head back around the corner, he gave Dotty a quick wink before replying, "Yes, Dear."

Hiding her obvious amusement at his teasing, she took a large drink of the quickly chilling tea. Looking up from her teacup, a sigh escaped her lips as she watched Kurt place a loving kiss on her mother's cheek. The look in her mother's eyes was that of love. Amanda tried to remember the last time that she had seen that much contentment in her mother. Closing her eyes, she thought back to the day her father had left for the service and fondly remembered the look on her mother's face. It was the same powerful trust, commitment, and desire she had held for her dad. If it was at all possible, she now dreaded the upcoming conversation even more than she had just minutes earlier.  


Dotty watched Kurt leave the room before turning her attention to her daughter. "Amanda, what's wrong? You've been awful quiet all morning and there has to be something up; otherwise Lee wouldn't have so eagerly offered to leave your side." 

Amanda rose from her seat. "Why don't we head out to the terrace, Mother?" She pushed her chair in and headed outside.

Placing her napkin on the table, Dotty stood and followed her daughter. Reaching the terrace, she watched her daughter cross slowly to the edge of the balcony and stop, obviously lost in thought. She had seen her daughter upset and worried many times in her life, but the quiet demeanor that she now held scared her. Hearing the waves crash against the white sand, Dotty proceeded to stand next to her daughter. "Breathtaking, isn't it?"

Amanda nodded as she watched the swans gathering the breakfast that had been placed just below the terrace. 

Dotty's curious nature took over as she watched her daughter's stony expression. "Amanda, sweetheart. What's wrong? You tossed and turned all night."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she started the dreaded conversation. "Did I tell you why Lee and I were sent up here?"

Dotty shrugged her shoulders. "You only mentioned that it was for some I.F.F. documentary. Why? Is this about you having to work while we're here?" Placing her right hand on her daughter's shoulder, she gently turned her around so she could see her face. "If it is, then stop worrying. I've resigned myself to the fact that this company asks a lot of you. But knowing that you've found such a wonderful man like Lee, I can understand why you stay there."

Amanda shook her head. "No, Mother. It's not that." Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. "Mother, I think you need to sit down for this." 

Dotty's curiosity was now really piqued. She looked at the concern on her daughter's face and began to wonder just where this was all heading. Taking a seat on one of the terrace chairs, she looked intently at her daughter.

  
Amanda sighed at the look of innocence her mother held. 'Better to get this over with and out in the open,' she told herself. "I.F.F. sent us here to do a documentary on war veterans. One of Lee's Vietnam buddies happens to be staying in a veteran's rehabilitation home in Boston. We decided we'd stop by and see him and get some good information for our film. Turns out this friend…" Amanda paused and started playing with her heart pendant. Turning to look out at the ocean, she continued, "Turns out this friend of Lee's was a helicopter pilot…"

Dotty looked curiously at her daughter. The mention of a helicopter pilot brought some memories of her husband floating back. Rising, she walked over to her daughter again, and placed her right hand on her shoulder. "Amanda, did this friend of Lee's know your father? Are you afraid that hearing stories about your father's war exploits would upset me?" She shook her head slowly, a smile appearing on her face as she thought of Kurt. "I've moved on, you know that. I still miss your daddy very much, but I know he'd be happy for me."

Biting her lower lip, Amanda fought back the tears that were threatening to fall. She gripped the terrace ledge to muster her courage. Turning, she looked her mother straight in the eye. "Mother, Lee's friend didn't _know_ Daddy. He _is_ Daddy." 

Dotty's face slowly turned from worry for her daughter to one of shock. Not quite sure she'd heard her daughter right, she whispered, "What did you say?" 

Amanda took her mother in her arms. "I didn't want to believe it at first, but the man in that room was…is…Daddy. He's alive," she replied in a gentle voice.

Dotty broke away from her daughter's embrace and walked back towards her chair. Shaking her head, she protested, "That man can't be your father, Amanda. I know your father. If he _had_ been alive, he would've come back to us after the war ended." Sitting down, she stared at her daughter. "You always did fantasize about your father waltzing back into our lives, telling us that the reports of his death were just rumors."

Amanda hadn't been sure how her mother would react, but she'd never expected to hear her mother say that she was imagining things. Walking over to Dotty, she knelt before her and placed her hand on her mother's knee. "I'm sorry, Mother. But this isn't a pipe dream of mine. I saw him with my own two eyes. We talked for hours yesterday. I'm sorry, Mother, but it really is Daddy."

Dotty was about to protest again, until she saw the look in her daughter's glistening eyes. Amanda's eyes never lied; she really believed what she was saying. Anger started to well up inside her at the thought of her husband abandoning his family. "Well, if he is your father, then where the heck has been for the last twelve years? Did he at least have a good reason for not coming home to us?" 

A few tears trailed down Amanda's cheeks as she nodded. "He was told we were killed in a house fire. He thought _we_ were dead."

Dotty body began to tremble with the thoughts of her husband still alive. "Well if that isn't the silliest thing I've ever heard. We didn't die. Why didn't he come back home to us and find out that it was a false report? Why didn't he contact your Aunt Ruth?" Dotty looked at her daughter. This just couldn't be happening now. She had finally come to terms with the loss of her soul mate. After so many years, she had finally found someone to fill the void Frank had left, and now it was all about to fall apart.

Wiping away the tears from her cheeks, Amanda placed a hand on her mother's arm. "Because, when his chopper went down, there were complications, and he lost his legs. He didn't want to be a burden to Aunt Ruth, and he was totally devastated by the news that he didn't have a family to come back to."

Dotty's eyes filled with tears at the thought of her husband feeling lost and alone. Forgetting the anger she felt, she was suddenly overcome with an urge to go see him. "Amanda, do you think we could head over and see him?"

Amanda's eyes widened at her mother's request. "Are you sure?" she asked in a whispered voice.

Dotty looked into her daughter's eyes. "Yes, I think it would be best if we went to see him, now. Do you think Lee could take us? I'll ask Kurt if he'll watch…Oh my goodness, Kurt."

Amanda saw the look of anguish in her mother's eyes. She knew this news was going to be hard for her to explain to her fiancé. "Mother, I'm sure if you explain to Captain Kurt…I mean if you tell him the truth; he'll understand. It's not like anything has changed. You're a different woman. There's no reason for you to decide anything right now," she rambled, not really sure what to say to her mother. 

Dotty took a deep breath. "Would you mind tracking the boys down so I can compose myself, and figure out just what to say to Kurt?"

Standing, she paused briefly and gave her mother a quick hug. "I'll go see where they got off to. Everything will work out. You'll see." Kissing her on the cheek, she headed back inside to grab her coat and find her wandering family.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Captain Kurt watched the black Blazer pull out of the parking lot. Waving his goodbyes, he inwardly hoped that the man his fiancée was about to visit was not Frank West; however, he knew deep down that it probably was. He loved Dotty, he was certain of that; and the thought of not having her in his life…well that was something he didn't want to think about right now. 

When Dotty had pulled him aside and began to explain the current situation, he could see that this was not news that she was exactly ecstatic about. She had told him that she was a different woman than the one Frank West had left behind, and she didn't know what she would do if he really was still alive. He had told her that no matter what happened, he loved her, and he knew that she loved him. 

He knew Frank was her first husband, and she owed it to herself to see if the man in the hospital was indeed the man she had married so long ago. He prayed that in the end, no matter what happened, as long as Dotty West was happy, he would be able to go on with his life. Turning, he went inside to see what Amanda's two teenage boys were up to.

Dotty glanced once out the back window of the Blazer toward the White Swan. Sighing, she faced forward and tried to relax as she leaned against the plush back seat. Her eyes began to focus on the wintry scene that passed by her window. Her mind, however, was remembering Kurt's calm and cool nature as she explained the situation. He'd been more than understanding and had promised to love her regardless of the outcome. That was one of the things she loved about him. 

She thought back to the irony of when they had first met and how she hadn't even hesitated in going out with him. He was a pilot for goodness sake. After Frank, she'd sworn off pilots and flying, and anything that had to do with the idea of her feet leaving the ground. However, when she had met Kurt, it was attraction at first sight, mostly because of his charming wit and she never thought twice about his career choice. 

The idea to take up lessons, and the fact that Kurt was so eager to teach her, allowed her to quickly overcome her fear of airplanes and flying. Frank would never even consider the idea of taking her up in the helicopter. Then again, maybe it was because she had never asked, nor felt like he wanted her to intrude on his job. Amanda was his little girl, and it never seemed a problem for her to go up with him. Maybe the reason she hated it so much when Frank took Amanda up was because she was just a little jealous. Jealous that she didn't have the guts to get up in that helicopter and experience her husband's other world. 

'Damn fear of heights,' she thought. The more she thought about Frank, the madder she

got. Why did he have to reappear now? Now, when everything was finally going so well for her. Her daughter was getting remarried, as was she. She was looking forward to giving her daughter and Lee time to adjust to family life, as well as moving out to live with her new husband. It had been a long time since she'd had the type of companionship that comes with marriage. 'Damn documentaries,' she thought. 'We would all be better off if Amanda hadn't discovered Frank was still alive. Why now?' Sighing she glanced at her daughter and the man in the driver's seat. A brief smile crossed her lips.

She was glad that her daughter had finally found a man, who had made it pretty clear by his constant presence in their lives, was going to stick by her through thick and thin. She had noticed, from the first few times she had seen Lee and Amanda together, that there was a special bond between the two. It was almost as if they'd known each other a lot longer than a year or two. 

Her daughter's relationship with Lee was much stronger than it had been with Joe. She had known, from the start, that Joe and Amanda were more friends than they were 'lovers.' Sure, she had grown to love Joe King; after all, he was the father of her grandchildren. Joe had run off to provide for his family, while Amanda had chosen to raise her children on solid ground. Joe's accepting the job in Estoccia, had probably been the best thing that had happened for both of them. The only sad thing was that Phillip and Jamie had grown up pretty much without a father. Now with Lee entering their lives, she was certain that they would have a strong male figure around all the time. Not just on weekends, as it was with Joe.

"It's truly amazing," a frustrated Dotty said aloud.

Amanda, who had been watching her mother through the side view mirror, awoke from her own thoughts. "What was that, Mother?"

"Oh gosh. Did I say that out loud?" Dotty asked.

"Afraid so, Dotty." Lee smiled as he glanced up in the rearview mirror. "So, what's so amazing?" He had been paying close attention to the road and stealing glances at his wife since they had left the bed and breakfast. He knew Amanda was worried about her mother and father's reunion. He was just glad he had taken a few minutes to call the Captain and let him know of their arrival. He owed his friend that much. Besides, he also wanted to remind the Captain not to mention anything about Amanda and his marriage or their work for the Agency.

"I was just thinking about how much our lives have changed since Frank…well since we thought Frank was gone. And now…now the things that seemed to be moving forward have come to a complete stop…at least for me," Dotty explained.

Lee squeezed Amanda's hand as she turned around in her seat to look at her mother. "Oh, Mother. Everything will work out, you'll see. It's just going to be very tough at first. Are you sure you want to see Daddy now?"

Dotty nodded. "Better to get it over with now then let it stew. Face the past so you can get on with the future. Haven't I always told you that?"

Lee stole a quick glance at his wife. Wasn't that what she always tried to make him do. He smiled. 'Like mother, like daughter.'

Turning back around, Amanda caught her husband's look. "Yes, Mother, it is." Sighing, she decided to change the subject. "Do you think Captain Kurt will be okay with the boys?"

Dotty smiled at the mention of Kurt's name. "Amanda, the boys will be fine with him. I just hope they don't try to get away with too much."

"Well," Lee said, glancing up at her in the mirror once more, "I told them to stay near the house and not to stray. Especially, since Phillip seems to have this itch to explore. Something about meeting some girl at dinner last night." 

Amanda looked towards her husband. Phillip was at the age where girls were definitely one of his top priorities, and she was glad Lee was around. Lord knew his history with woman might just prove insightful when it came to raising a teenage boy who was just starting to be bombarded by hormones.

Lee felt his wife's stare. "What?"

Amanda chuckled. "Nothing. I was just thinking about how nice it will be to have you around to help guide Phillip in the ways of female relationships."

"Amen to that," Dotty muttered from the back seat. Both Amanda and Lee heard her, and they all broke out into laughter.

They continued to make small talk until they reached the city limits. An eerie silence filled the car as soon as the "Boston City Limits" sign appeared along the highway and they realized they weren't far from the veteran's hospital. No one was particularly anxious about the impending reunion.

As Lee pulled into the parking lot, Dotty took a deep breath. Was she ready for this? A small part of her hoped that Amanda was wrong and that the man inside wasn't Frank. However, the voice of reason told her that it probably was. Taking another deep breath as the Blazer came to a stop in a parking spot, she undid her seat belt and prepared to exit the vehicle.

Lee quickly exited the vehicle and started to head around to open the passenger doors for Amanda and Dotty, but they were both already out of the Blazer. Amanda walked up to her mother and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. Lee took Amanda's hand in his, and the trio made their way into the building.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda and Dotty waited outside Frank West's room. Lee had told them that he just wanted to make sure that the Captain was okay and prepared to see Dotty. 

Amanda knew her husband was really filling the Captain in and getting any new information surrounding the case, without having to deal with any distractions. She also wondered if he was reminding her father not to mention anything about the Agency or the fact that she was already Mrs. Stetson.

Walking over to her mother, she put an arm around her waist. Dotty sighed. "It's okay, Amanda. I'll be fine. I'm just trying to collect myself. I'm just thinking about out what to say to the man in that room."

Before Amanda could respond, Lee stepped out into the hallway with one of the hospital nurses. 

He nodded towards the nurse, who was really an undercover agent, as she headed down the hallway. "Shall we, ladies?" Lee was trying his best to make this as pleasant a situation as possible. 

Dotty took Amanda's hand, and the two followed Lee into the Captain's room.

"Mother, I'd like to re-introduce you to Frank West." Amanda squeezed her mother's hand.

  
Although Dotty had been told that Frank was in a wheelchair, the sight of the man sitting there, so devastated by the horrors of war, was almost more than she could handle. Moving her gaze from the wheelchair to the man's face, she lost all control on her composure as she realized that the gentleman in front of her was definitely the man she had believed to be dead.

Noticing his mother-in-law's faltering form, Lee quickly stepped behind her and put his hands supportively on her shoulders.

Frank looked at the woman before him. She was as beautiful today as she had been all those years ago at the airport. Finding his voice, he managed to speak in a soft whisper, "Dotty, my you're a beautiful sight for sore eyes." It had been a true shock when he'd first seen Amanda; but the sight of the woman he'd loved so long ago standing before him was truly a dream come true.

Lee helped Dotty to the nearby chair then turned to his wife. Extending his hand for her to accept. "Come on, Amanda, why don't we give these two a little time alone."

Amanda blinked back tears as she looked at her parents. 'So many dreams over the years for this to happen, and now they've finally all come true.' Looking towards her mother for reassurance that she was ready to be alone with her father, Amanda softly smiled at the slow nod Dotty gave her. "I guess we could go explore a little, Lee." 

  
Frank rolled his chair closer to Dotty. Extending his hand for Amanda to take, he encouraged her to go. "Go on, Panda. We'll be all right. I think after all this time apart, it would be wonderful to spend some time alone with your mother."

Amanda accepted her father's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "Mother, is that all right with you?"

Hearing Frank speak Amanda's old nickname made something snap in Dotty's mind. Turning her attention to Lee and Amanda, she spoke in a firm tone, "Yes, please go on. I think there are few things that Frank and I need to re-find out about each other."

Amanda released her father's hand and went to stand beside Lee. 

Taking her hand in his, Lee led her out of the room, closing the door behind him. As soon as they were a few feet away from the room, he stopped and took Amanda in his arms. "They'll be fine, Amanda," he reassured her as he gently stroked her hair.

"I hope so. I can't even imagine what's going through their minds. I'm sure Daddy is truly excited to see Mother again, but I'm not so sure Mother is very excited about seeing Daddy." She looked into her husband's eyes and saw love and devotion in them, something that was no longer in her mother's eyes when she looked at her father.

Lee raised his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?" 

Pulling from his embrace, Amanda shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure. There was something about the tone in her voice when she told us to leave them alone that just didn't sound…well...I don't know, but it wasn't happiness." Taking her husband's hand in hers, she started to lead him down the hallway. "Come on, husband. Let's go explore the grounds. Maybe we can find something wrong with this place and convince my father that he should move closer to us."

Leaning down as they walked, Lee placed a quick kiss on his wife's cheek. "Oh, I can think of a few things that this place doesn't have."

"Oh yeah? And what might that be?" Amanda was enjoying the jovial tone in her husband's voice. It was taking her mind off the couple in the room down the hall.

As they approached the elevators, Lee reached out to push the down button. "For starters, you're not here. I know I couldn't stand to be away from you, knowing that you were waiting on me. I'd come running home with boots on."

Knowing what her husband meant, she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you. I love you, you know."

A mischievous smile played on his face, as Lee pulled her closer to him. "I love you, too. I think I'm going to enjoy this bit of quality time with you." 

As the elevator doors opened, Amanda followed him in. "Me too, Lee, me too."

Neither one had noticed the orderly slink around the corner just past Nighthawk's room. 

"Weasel isn't going to be happy about this," the man muttered to himself. "Not happy at all when he finds out that Nighthawk's been reunited with his family. However, maybe if I tell him that Scarecrow has a wife and family, and that that family is Nighthawk's family, too, he won't slice my head off for not finding the list." He headed towards an empty room to phone Weasel with this new information.

To be continued…


	3. Giving Thanks for What We Have - Part 3

Disclaimers: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned authors. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you would like to add it to an archive, please just let us know.

Summary: This story takes place after the series has ended. It's a "sequel" of sorts to our story _"More Than Meets the Eye."_ A man from Lee's past turns Amanda's family life upside down.

Author's Notes: We did extensive research surrounding the Vietnam War and events that took place during that time. Some scenarios mentioned really did occur; we just added the wonderful world of SMK to them. Any airplane scenes mentioned we checked with a flight expert to handle any reality issues as we wrote. A very special thank you to Tammy for beta reading and being a true part of helping us write this story.

Timeframe: Thanksgiving the year they were married.

Rating: R (some suggestive situations and language)

**__**

Giving Thanks for What We Have

By Diane & Amy (Two Phantoms)

Chapter 7

As soon as Lee and Amanda had left the room, Dotty rose from her seat. Clenching her fists, she stared at the man she hesitated to call her husband. "HOW DARE YOU!"

Frank was quite taken back by the sudden outburst from his wife. In all their years of marriage he had never seen the intense anger and resentment that now flashed in her eyes. "Dotty, I know this is hard to accept, but I was hoping we could…"

  
Interrupting him, Dotty shook her finger as she shouted, "How dare you jump back into our lives after so long! How dare you act as if nothing has changed!?!"

Frank widened his eyes as he watched her face turn from pale to fire red in seconds. His mind reeled with questions as to why she was so angry. Amanda had accepted him back in her life, why couldn't his wife. "Dotty, what are you shouting for? And what _are_ you talking about?"

Walking past Frank's chair, Dotty took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Looking out the window at the darkening sky, she tried to collect her thoughts. 'Why am I yelling at Frank? He's been just as cheated out of the last twelve years as I've been.' 

Frank wheeled his chair over to her and attempted to take her hand in his. He so desperately wanted to touch her soft skin and make sure that he wasn't imagining things. Of course, the exchange that had just taken place was proof enough that she was real. 

As Frank's hand brushed hers, Dotty turned back around. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "Oh, Frank, I know it must've been difficult for you all these years."

Seeing the tears in her eyes and hearing the softer tone of her voice, Frank took this opportunity to gently grasp her hand. "Dotty, you know I would've come home if I could have. I don't know what our Panda told you, but…I truly believed you to be dead."

Hearing him speak the same words Amanda had told her earlier brought the anger flooding back to her body. Yanking her hand from his, her eyes turned cold as she stared at her husband. "Frank West, don't feed _me_ that bologna! You may have won Amanda over with that sad story of your accident and some sorry excuse of a telegram telling you we were dead, but I won't buy it."

Moving his chair backwards a little, he was once again confused by this sudden outburst of anger from his wife. At least one thing was certain; her temper hadn't changed much. "Dotty, honestly…it's not a story--"

  
"I know," Dotty continued as she clenched her fists and looked at the ceiling, "that war can change a man, a person, but I know you, or at least I did back then. The Frank West I knew, loved, and married would _never _have indulged in any kind of self-pity. He would've come home seeking the truth. He would have wanted to see for himself that his family was gone. I don't _know_ you." Her last words were spoken with pure venom as she gazed into his eyes. 

"Dotty, I didn't…I mean I never thought…the trauma of the accident…the events that took place…" Frank couldn't figure out what to say to her. Amanda had so willingly listened and accepted him back. Why was Dotty being so hard to get through to?

Dotty leaned back against the windowsill. Holding her right hand to her forehead, she looked down at the floor. "You know what Frank West? I've always kept you very close to my heart. It took me a long time to believe that you were gone and that you would never be coming back to hold me in your arms, to make me complete again." 

Looking back at Frank's scarred face and glistening eyes, she continued. "I finally got on with my life. Oh, why did you have to show up now?" Her voice had begun to crack as she thought of Kurt and the life she had been planning with him. She looked more closely at the man sitting before her, the man she knew to be her husband. She should be glad he was back, but she just couldn't shake the resentment for so suddenly feeling cheated for missing out on so much.

"I can't deal with this right now. I thought I could, but I really can't. Goodbye, Frank."

With that, she turned and headed out of the room.

Frank watched his past walk out the door. Maybe she was right. Maybe he should have insisted on going home to check on things. Maybe he should have had Richard Fire or even Lee check into it for him. He put his head in his hands and let misery take over.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee wrapped his arms around his wife as they sat on a bench in the gardens outside the home. Enjoying the solitude of the moment, they were oblivious to the chill of the winter day as the warmth from their love enveloped them. They were so lost in each other that they didn't see Dotty enter the gardens through the glass doors.

Dotty pulled her coat closed then brushed the remaining tears from her face. Taking a deep breath, she approached them. "There you two are. The receptionist said she saw you head this way."

Amanda was startled by her mother's voice. Looking at her watch, she realized that barely ten minutes had gone by. Concern was written on her face as she took in Dotty's unhappy features. "Mother, what happened? Is Daddy all right?" Lee released his embrace, allowing Amanda to rise and walk towards Dotty.

Dotty avoided her daughter's questioning eyes as she walked past her and nodded her thanks to Lee as he rose and helped her take the seat on the bench Amanda had just vacated. Having the few moments alone in the elevator, she'd managed to calm herself from the emotional roller coaster she had just ridden. She knew she hadn't been fair to Frank, but she couldn't help it. She had needed to unleash the anger that had built up over the years. "I don't know… looking at him…there in that room…alive and coherent…I suddenly realized just how much we had really lost over the years." 

Amanda was now very much confused and followed her mother back to the bench.

Finally, looking up at her daughter, guilt wracked her soul for her earlier behavior towards Frank. Reaching up and taking Amanda's left hand in hers, she felt the tears begin to spring to her eyes yet again. "I let my anger take over...I'm sure I left your father in a state of hurt and confusion."

Lee watched his mother-in-law dealing with her emotions and realized that the Captain was probably feeling quite alone at the moment. Raking his fingers through his hair, he began walking towards the doors, pausing just behind his wife. "I'd better go up and check on him."

Amanda gently grabbed his arm as he passed. "No, Lee. Let me." She quickly kissed her mother on the cheek and headed back inside.

Lee watched Amanda enter the building before turning his attention to his mother-in-law. "If you need a shoulder to lean on, Amanda's taught me the finer points on being a good listener."

Dotty let a small smile cross her lips as she stood. "Thanks, Lee. I think I might take you up on that. For now, do you mind if we find a warm place inside to just sit?"

Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he replied, "Not at all." Leading her into the building, they walked past the receptionist and into the downstairs lounge.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda gently knocked on her father's door. Not hearing a response, she cautiously entered the room. 

Frank had heard the knock and wished that it would be Dotty returning. He slowly looked up and even though he was a little disappointed it wasn't his wife, he was glad to see his daughter enter.

Walking over to him, she knelt on the floor beside his chair. "Daddy, are you okay?" Reaching out, she took his right hand in her left.

"Oh, Panda. I knew your mom would be upset, but I didn't think she'd be so angry." He looked into the brown eyes of his daughter. "Maybe I should've come home all those years ago. Maybe…"

Squeezing his hand, Amanda gently stroked his cheek with her right hand. "Daddy, you can't sit here and wonder about what-ifs and maybes. She'll come around. I think a lot of it has to do with Captain Kurt."

Frank's eyebrows raised questioningly at his daughter. "Captain Kurt?"

Amanda realized that she never mentioned her mother's plans of getting remarried. "Oh,

gosh." Looking into her father's eyes, she replied, "Captain Kurt is Mother's fiancée. They met about two years ago. Mother started taking flying lessons from him…"

"Your mother is learning to fly? Your mother, who got sick at the very thought of flying?" Frank responded, the shock evident in his voice.

Never releasing his hand, Amanda rose and moved over to sit in the chair beside the window. Frank moved his wheelchair to keep pace with his daughter. 

  
"Yeah, it came as quite a shock to me, too. I guess that was when I realized how much she'd changed and all she'd overcome. Captain Kurt is a wonderful man, Daddy. I think seeing you has made everything so much more real, and so much more confusing for her."

"I guess I can understand that." Frank's voice was quiet as he spoke. He began to ponder what Amanda had just told him. His Dotty had moved on. In fact, life itself had moved on while he sat in a wheelchair hiding out in Boston. "I mean, I guess now I can understand why your mother was so upset with me."

Amanda squeezed his hand again. "Don't worry, Daddy. Everything will work out. You'll see. I'm just thankful to have you back in my life, again. I want you to be a part of our family again."

Frank looked into the glowing face of his daughter. "I know, Panda, I know. We all just need a little more time to figure everything out."

Looking at the clock, she realized it was just a little past four o'clock. "Will you be all right? We really need to get back to the house. I left the boys with Captain Kurt, and well, I know how your grandsons can be if they are left for too long with fresh blood to try and trick."

Frank gently pulled on his daughter's hand. "Go on. Have your husband call me later and fill me in the latest Weasel developments, okay?"

Bending down, Amanda placed a kiss on his cheek. "I will, Daddy."

"I love you, Panda." He released her hand and watched as she headed towards the door.

"I love you, too." Giving him a gentle smile, Amanda closed the door behind her and went to find her mother and husband.

~~~~~~~~~~

Captain Kurt's eyes darted back and forth from the eldest to the youngest of Dotty's grandchildren as he relaxed in the comforts the front porch provided. Sighing at the sight of her active grandchildren, he continued to hope that they would still be part of his future. He regretted never having any children of his own, and Dotty's family filled the empty void in his life so well. Shaking his head at the never-ending negative thoughts of what might happen or might not happen, he tried to focus on what was in front of him now. 

A soft smile graced his wrinkled features as he watched a helpless passerby trying desperately to avoid being captured on film. Rubbing his hands over his face, he privately wished that Lee Stetson had never given Jamie that camera. 

Jamie smiled up at the older man relaxing in the swing. "Smile, Uncle Kurt." 

Captain Kurt flashed his widest smile. As soon as the flash had gone off, Jamie turned around to continue his attack of capturing the images of the few guests coming and going on film. When the last had departed from view, he then began to take pictures of the neighboring homes and any passing vehicles that went by. 

Phillip had become bored with the lack of activities around the old house. Bounding up the steps to the porch, he took a seat next to the Captain. "Hey, Uncle Kurt. What do you say we drive off in that Caddie of yours and take in the sites?" 

Moving his legs down from the table before him, Captain Kurt straightened in his chair. "I promised your mother and Lee that we would stay around here until they got back." Patting Phillip on the back he continued, "They've only been gone a few hours. It shouldn't be too much longer, now. They said they'd be back around five o'clock."

Phillip sighed and placed his head in his hands. "Man, am I bored. Would you care if I took a walk down the street? I won't be gone long."

Captain Kurt looked at the depressed state his hopefully 'soon-to-be grandson' was in. He really wanted to hit it off with the boys because he knew that they were going to be a big part of the rest of his life. "All right. But be back in an hour! Don't you be late, or your grandmother will join your mother and Lee in skinning me alive."

Phillip jumped up from his seat as the words "all right" escaped the older man's lips. "I promise." Running down the steps, he momentarily hesitated as he yelled to his brother. 

Jamie was too involved with his photography of the unsuspecting neighbors to hear his brother's attempt to get his attention. Adjusting his camera lens to focus on one particular neighbor, he jumped as his brother gave him a slap on the back. 

"Hey, Jamie. I'm heading off to explore that neighborhood. You know the one we talked about with Lee last night. Wanna go?"

Jamie peered out from behind the camera to look at his brother. "Nope. I think I've found my own little interest to hold me over for the next few hours." He could feel the heat rush to his face even as he spoke the words. 

Phillip walked over to his brother and looked into the adjoining yard. There on the porch sat a cute little brunette, about Jamie's age, with her head in a book. "Oh, I see, Dufus."

Jamie gave Phillip a good punch in the arm. "You don't see anything, worm head."

Phillip gave a good-natured laugh as he turned and headed down the sidewalk. Waving to the Captain and Jamie, he yelled his promise to be back in an hour. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Entering the van, Weasel relaxed against the leather seat. The knowledge that he could watch the activities of the jubilant family from behind the tinted glass of the van sent a wave of contentment through his lanky body. As ideas formed in his mind for a solution to his latest problem, a sinister smile crossed his hardened features. "This just couldn't get any better."

Tightening his grip around the doorknob with his left hand and wiping the sweat from his brow with his right, Weasel's employee kept his eyes focused on the young man that his boss was referring to. "Hmm…what, boss?" 

Weasel's jade green eyes narrowed at the passenger beside him. "Shit, Simon. I don't think you ever listen to a damn thing I tell you." Taking a deep breath, his eyes once again fell on Phillip. "According to the info I got, that boy is not only Scarecrow's stepson _but _he's Nighthawk's grandson as well. I can kill _two_ birds with one stone."

Nodding his understanding, Simon shifted slightly in his seat and pulled his gun. "Ya want me to take him out?"

Raking his fingers through his thick red hair, Weasel released a loud sigh of disgust. "No, you idiot. If we kill him, it will gain us nothing but two pissed-off men seeking revenge. No, I want them to suffer a long time, and I think the capture of the boy will serve that purpose nicely. I also want to make sure that Nighthawk doesn't suddenly get a brainstorm and figure out that he's had the remainder of that list in his family's possession all these years. I want it back!"

Simon's forehead crinkled as he processed his boss' words. "I thought it was only a partial list that he'd been given."

Slamming his fist against the steering wheel, he turned to look at Simon. "Do I have to remind you of every little detail?" Taking a deep breath to regain control of his temper, he continued. "Agent Martin gave him the remainder of the list the day before we shot Nighthawk down. My informant told me that part of the list was a written one given to Nighthawk, but the half that contained all the high-ranking officials we had in our little game was on a piece of microfilm that Martin gave Nighthawk. _That's_ when you kidnapped Martin for me."

Again nodding his understanding, Simon looked down at the gun he still had clutched in his hand. As the memories of the assignment began to come to him in bits and pieces, he played with the trigger. "He's the one you had me torture before I killed him to find out where the film was."

Taking the gun out of Simon's shaking hand, Weasel placed it on the seat between them. "Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't have left you in that hospital for lunatics. Yes, he was the one." Clearing his throat, he cranked the van and pulled up to the house Phillip King had just entered. "The only thing that we could get out of Martin was that Nighthawk had no knowledge of having possession of the microdot. Martin had given it to him in a gift for his daughter, Amanda West." 

Simon remained quiet for a few minutes in hopes that his boss would continue his explanation. When he didn't, he asked, "So, why didn't you kill Nighthawk when ya had the chance?"

Turning his sharp jade eyes back to the bulky man beside him, Weasel explained. "Okay, I thought the crash would've killed him, but it didn't. Shit, he ended up not having any serious injuries at all. So I arranged for him to be injected with what was supposed to be a lethal amount of poison. It didn't do its job right. It only caused serious damage with his blood circulation. The only bonus was that the doctors had to amputate both his legs. However, the loss of his legs didn't diminish his spirit. He was still determined to return home, so I made arrangements to have his family killed and his home burned to the ground. That way he would have nothing to return home to."

Simon reached down on the seat and began to fiddle with his gun. A wide grin showed off his missing teeth as the memories flooded back. "Oh, now it's all coming back. I thought I did a damn good job of making it look like an electrical fire in their pleasant little home."

Weasel gently removed the gun, once again, from Simon's rough fingers. His killing machine seemed to be a little more off than usual today. "Did you take your medication this morning?"

An evil laugh filled the van as Simon's normally brown eyes turned black and he focused them on his superior. "Do I see fear in your eyes?"

Weasel's eyes narrowed, meeting Simon's intense stare with his own. Pulling a bottle from his coat pocket, he handed it to Simon. "No, I do not fear you, my friend, but you and I both know that if you don't take your medication, you lose control. If that happens, I won't be able to keep you from going back to the loony bin."

Simon's eyes remained locked with Weasel's, as his mind mulled over the possibilities. Taking the bottle, he opened it and retrieved two small blue pills. "Perhaps you're right. I don't wish to go back." Placing the pills under his tongue, he closed his eyes and let them dissolve.

Weasel watched as Simon's features immediately began to soften. Deciding that the beast was once again controllable, he carefully continued the earlier conversation. "You did a fine job with the fire…except you burned the wrong house."

Opening his now-softening brown eyes, the uncertainty of his abilities returned. "So…are you mad at me?"

Still doubtful that his blood-lusting beast was completely calmed, Weasel used soft words. "Of course not, Simon. My phony telegram to the Captain ended up working better than expected. Earlier today, my man at the hospital had time to search Nighthawk's room and found no trace of anything that would contain the microfilm. The old man must've sent it to his daughter before the crash. Maybe it was lucky that you burned the wrong house. This time, however, we'll just have to make certain that the good Captain's family retrieves the gift he sent his daughter, and the boy will be the perfect bait. Then when we're all done, I'll let you do the honor of taking out the whole family." 

A shiver went down Weasel's back at the glint of happiness that flashed in Simon's eyes as he picked up the packet of pictures that lay on the dashboard and began to flip through the photographs. "Nighthawk's daughter is quite lovely. I may take my time with her."

Turning his attention to the door opening at the house, Weasel shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just get the kid and take it from there. I'll get him to come over to the van. When he's at the door, you pull him in and chloroform him."

Weasel did not wait for Simon's response as he opened the door and casually walked across the street. "Hey, kid. Could you help me a minute?

Phillip looked up at the quickly approaching man. Still excited from the visit with the young blonde girl, he ignored the warning bells ringing in his ears. "What can I do for you?"

Weasel pointed towards the van and placed his right hand gently on Phillip's shoulder. "My van won't crank, and I've got a sick dog in the back. It's too cold for me to walk him to the vet. I wanted to go make a phone call to get a friend of mine to pick us up, but I didn't want to leave him alone. Would you mind staying with him for a few?"

Phillip's mind began to race with his mother's constant warnings of strangers and the recently-added comments from Lee on the subject. Looking up at the strange man before him, he shrugged his shoulders and began to walk with him across the street. "How about if I stay outside the van and watch him through the window?"

Tightening his grip on Phillip's shoulder, Weasel's green eyes danced. "Sure. I'll just introduce the two of you and then be off."

As Weasel released Phillip's shoulder and opened the door, Phillip leaned inside the van to find the sick animal. "I don't…" 

Simon's wide hands grasped the boy's arms as he shoved him to the floorboard. Taking the chloroformed-soaked rag from the seat, he placed it over Phillip's mouth until the young body's struggling ceased. "He's out."

Weasel smiled contentedly as he closed the doors of the van and returned to the driver's seat. He had to put his new game piece safely away before putting the next step of his plan of into action. Too preoccupied in thought, neither man had noticed the dark item that had fallen on the sidewalk during the struggle. 

Weasel's eyes narrowed at the sight of the approaching Blazer. "Well, speak of the devil. Get down, Simon. The mighty Scarecrow is coming our way."

Simon did as he was told and crouched in the floorboard of the van as he listened to the hum of the engine. "Do you think he spotted you?"

Weasel adjusted his sunglasses then put the van into motion. "Nope, but I feel like he's in for a real eye opener when he gets back to his cozy getaway and realizes I have his son."

~~~~~~~~~~~

As Lee pulled into the parking lot of the bed and breakfast, he could feel the hair on his neck begin to rise. Quickly exiting the Blazer he surveyed his surroundings. Amanda's body snapped to attention at the sudden actions of her husband. She quickly opened her car door to join him. "Lee? What's wrong?"

Without looking at his wife he pointed to the house. "Go find the boys. Something isn't right."

Amanda didn't hesitate and started to call for her boys. Dotty exited the vehicle, deep in thought over her husband's sudden reappearance. She slowly walked to the house. She wanted to find Kurt and talk to him about her discoveries. Jamie, hearing his mother's call, quickly exited the house and ran over to her. "Hey, Mom! Hey, Lee!"

Amanda placed her hands on her son's shoulders. "Jamie, where's your brother?"

Jamie looked down at his feet. "I knew you'd be mad."

Lee stepped behind Amanda and firmly placed his hands on her shoulders. "Jamie, where is Phillip?"

Jamie looked up at Lee when he heard the unfamiliar tone of demand in the older man's voice. "He went to talk to that girl down the street. You know, the one he was telling you about last night. He was supposed to be back by now."

Lee looked down the now darkening street. "Amanda, check with Kurt and find out the details." He released Amanda's shoulders and sprinted down the street. 

Amanda maintained a calm expression in her features as she guided Jamie into the house. "Mom, is Lee mad?" 

Amanda stopped at the top of the steps then pulled Jamie into her embrace. "No, Jamie. He's just worried about Phillip. It's getting dark, and we're in a strange place. Phillip shouldn't have taken off without adult supervision."

Jamie could sense his mother's nervousness and returned her embrace tightly. "I'm sorry, Mom."

Amanda stroked her son's soft brown hair with her fingers. "It's okay, Jamie. There's nothing for you to be sorry about. Phillip is old enough to know better. Let's go find Captain Kurt, shall we?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee's heart raced as he left the girl's home. Phillip had left over fifteen minutes ago, and he hadn't seen him anywhere. With the house being this close to the White Swan, there was no way he would have missed seeing him on his way over here. Raking his left hand through his hair, he hoped that Phillip had taken a short cut home through the backyards and that he had just missed him. 

Looking back up the street in the direction of the bed and breakfast and seeing nothing but empty yards, Lee felt his stomach begin to knot. He'd had this same overwhelming feeling many times over the past five years whenever Amanda had turned up missing. 

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he crossed the street to look for any evidence of Phillip on his way back to the house. His eyes caught a glimpse of something wedged against the sidewalk curb. Bending down to pick up the familiar black hat, he acknowledged his stepson's fate. "I swear that I will find you, Phillip."

Chapter 8

The soft rubber of Amanda's tennis shoes made a slight squeak as she continuously walked over the wooden floor of the front entrance. Her eyes immediately focused on the wooden door as she heard approaching footsteps. Opening the door, her eyes locked with her husband's, and her heart felt as if it had slowed to the point of stopping as her eyes traveled, hesitantly, from his angered eyes down his arm to his left hand, finally coming to rest on her son's hat. Her husband's white-knuckled grip barely registered. "Lee--"

Lee pulled the screen door open and entered the house. Shaking his head, he reached out to his wife and pulled her close, offering the only thing he had to give at the moment: his strength. "He wasn't there." He felt her trembling increase and closed his eyes, hating that he'd had to say those words. "The only thing I found was his hat." Pulling back slightly, he looked into her eyes. "I need to call Billy and get some backup up here."

Amanda closed her eyes and laid her head against her husband's broad chest. "I can't loose my little boy."

Lee gently stroked her hair as he watched his youngest stepson quickly coming down the steps. "I promise I'll find him, Amanda." Sighing, he said softly, "Until then, your gonna have to be strong"

Realizing that something was wrong, Jamie stopped at the bottom of the steps. "Where's Phillip?" 

Amanda froze momentarily. Blinking back tears, she slowly pulled away from Lee's comforting arms and looked into his eyes for the support she would need before completely pulling out of his embrace. Taking a deep breath, she placed a professional mask over her features and then turned to her youngest. Walking over to Jamie, she took his hand in hers and led him to the living room. "Jamie, we need to talk."

Jamie glanced back over his shoulder to watch Lee gently lay Phillip's cap on the entrance table. Lee stood silent for a moment collecting his thoughts, before shoving his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and following them. 

Amanda placed her hands on Jamie's shoulders and guided him to sit on the couch. Kneeling before him, she dropped her hands onto his knees. "Jamie, I don't know where to start or how to explain this to you except," she paused imperceptibly, seeking and finding her husband's unyielding support, "to just say it." 

Jamie glanced up at the strong figure of Lee now behind his mother. Looking back to his mother, he nodded for her to continue. "Is Phillip in trouble?"

Amanda hesitated until she felt Lee's hand on her shoulder. "Jamie, today your grandmother, Lee, and I went to visit someone at the Veteran's hospital. That person was Frank West, your grandfather."

Though his eyes widened at this news, Jamie remained quiet, as he looked first to his mother and then up at Lee. Amanda stood to take a seat beside him on the couch. Taking his hands in hers, she continued. "Your grandfather wasn't killed in the war as we'd been led to believe. Not only that, but an evil man told your grandfather that _we_ had all been killed. Your grandfather believed that man and never returned home. The same man arranged for us to believe that your grandfather had been killed in a helicopter crash trying to save the lives of other men."

Lee waited for a string of questions or at least a sudden outburst from his stepson but was surprised to see his face remain emotionless. 

Amanda looked up at Lee then back to Jamie. "Jamie, we believe the man that did all of this has taken Phillip. We don't know what his intentions are, but I promise that we'll find your brother."

Jamie jerked his hands from his mother's and stood. "I'm going up to our room and get my camera. I want to take a few more pictures." He stood slowly and all but ran across the room. Never glancing back at the two adults who remained silent in the living room, he bounded up the steps, two at a time.

Amanda stood and started to follow him. Lee placed his hand on her shoulder as she started to walk past him. "Amanda, let me talk to him."

She snapped her head around to look at Lee. "He's _my_ son!" She immediately gasped at her own words, a stricken look on her face. Reaching out to touch his shoulder as tears sprang to her eyes, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Lee. I didn't mean it that way."

Lee pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Gently stroking her hair, he shook his head slowly. "I'm worried, too, Amanda. It's okay." He inhaled her gentle scent and closed his eyes. "I expected a string of questions or at least some anger, but he threw up a few walls instead." He pulled back slightly and looked into her saddened eyes. "I'm kind of an expert at that type of thing. Let me go up and talk to him a minute."

Amanda gave him a watery smile. "If you need me, I'll be here waiting." Placing a light kiss on his lips, she stepped back. As she watched him ascend the stairs, she wrapped her arms around herself and sat down.

Lee ran his left hand through his hair as he looked at the door that stood between him and his stepson. Knocking softly on the door, he opened it slightly. "Jamie, can I come in?" When there was no response, he stepped into the dimly-lit room and immediately saw Jamie sitting on his brother's bed. 

Jamie remained quiet as Lee took a seat beside him. Lee could tell that he had been crying as he watched Jamie wipe his eyes with his sleeve and turn to face away from him. 

"So, Sport. Wanna talk?"

Jamie shook his head no and stood up. Lee watched the slim figure staring out into the night for a moment then looked down at where Jamie had been sitting. Picking up the crumpled photograph, he straightened out the edges then held it up to the lamp beside the bed. A single picture held a thousand words, Lee thought as he looked at the happy family celebrating last Christmas together. Phillip and Jamie stood tall on opposite sides of their mother while Joe stood behind the three with his arms outstretched around his family. 

Lee placed the photograph, face up, on the nightstand then went to stand behind his stepson. "Jamie, we need to talk about this."

Jamie shoulders slumped with resignation as he turned to look at Lee. "First, Dad leaves us to 'fulfill' his dream. Now, Phillip is gone. I feel like I'm losing everyone I love, and I can't do anything about it." Pushing past Lee, he flopped on the bed and placed his head in his hands. 

Lee knew exactly how he felt. He had lost so many people he'd loved in his life, and now the thoughts of losing his stepson before he even had the chance to tell him how much he loved him burned deep in his soul. Joining Jamie on the bed, he placed his right arm around his slim shoulders. "Jamie, I promise I'll find Phillip."

Jamie's tear-streaked face looked up at the man he now considered a friend. "Lee, are you going to leave us, too? What if you decide that we're not what you need? Dad decided we weren't enough to make him happy, and now Phillip's been taken away from me."

Lee felt the world drop out from under him momentarily. He tightened his grip around Jamie's shoulders. "Jamie, I'm not going anywhere, and Phillip will come back to us. Your dad left by choice and _not_ because you weren't good enough. He loved you both back then, and he still loves you. Phillip…well, he hasn't left you; he's just missing. There is a difference. Look, I need you to be strong, but not talking about things will help no one. Believe me, once you build up walls to protect yourself from feeling anything, they're very hard to take down."

Jamie leaned against the strong shoulder offered to him. "I knew something was wrong when you and Mom got here last night. Mom just didn't seem herself. I know it sounds stupid, but I just had that feeling."

Lee warmly smiled at the knowledge that Jamie had inherited many of his mother's capabilities. "It's not stupid, Jamie. I know you have a lot of questions about your grandfather and what is going on. I promise to tell you all that I can. Do you want to talk about it now?"

Jamie pulled away from Lee and shrugged his shoulders. "I already overheard Grandma talking to Uncle Kurt before I came down about Grandfather. I actually think it's cool that he's alive and that we get to meet him. I was on my way down to talk to Mom about it when I saw the look on your face, and I knew something was wrong with Phillip." Standing, he walked over and picked up his camera, and then glanced back at Lee. "I guess there isn't much more to know, is there?"

Lee stood, giving his stepson a tight smile, and walked towards the door. "No, there's not much more to tell you right now. I'll be downstairs with your mother if you need to talk." Opening the door, he watched Jamie take a seat back on the bed with his camera in hand. 

"Thanks, Lee."

Lee started out the door then turned back to look at him. "You're welcome, Jamie." Lee hesitated placing his hand on the edge of the door above the doorknob. "Jamie…"

Jamie looked up at Lee. "Yeah?"

Lee's words were barely above a whisper. "I love you." Closing the door behind him, he headed down the steps.

Jamie wiped the newly-formed tears from his face as Lee's last words began to register. Relaxing back against the soft pillows, he thought over everything Lee had just said to him. Rolling over to his left side, he pulled the extra pillow close to his chest then closed his eyes. 'Maybe, Lee _will_ take care of us.' 

As Lee approached the top of the stairs, he could hear his mother-in-law ranting while Amanda explained the situation with Phillip. Deciding his presence might add fuel to the fire, he slowly walked down the steps and slipped out the back door to go to his vehicle. He needed to call Billy and get protection set up for his family. He also wanted to obtain a complete report on Weasel's activities from Interpol. As he walked around the front of the house, he felt a presence following him. Pulling his gun from the waistband of his jeans, he pressed his body against the side of the white house and waited for the intruder to show himself. 

The shadow appeared before Lee with hands extended. "Ya know, Scarecrow, Harry was right. You're quite good. I didn't think you'd notice me." 

Lee continued to point his gun towards the man. Gritting his teeth, as he realized it was the same man from the other morning, the one Amanda had mentioned to him last night. "All right, out with it. Who in the hell are you? And why are you hanging around my family?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the older man pointed to the front of the house. "It's cold out here, boy. What do you say we head for your Blazer, and I'll explain?" Beginning to walk towards the light offered from the front porch fixture, he continued. "I think its time you learned the truth."

Lee hesitated before sliding his gun back into his waistband, but kept his left hand protectively over it as he followed the other man towards the Blazer. Reaching the vehicle, Lee opened the driver's side door and entered. As he hit the unlock button for the passenger side, he again pulled his gun and placed it on his lap. 

A broad smile flickered across the older man's face as he entered. "Why don't you put the iron away, Scarecrow? I'm going to pull out my identification, so don't shoot me, okay?"

Lee narrowed his eyes at the man and maintained a tight grip on his gun. "Get out your I.D., but you'd better do it nice and easy, or I'll have no problem shooting you."

The man gingerly pulled his black wallet from his breast pocket. "The name is Richard Fire. I'm an officer for the Secret Service."

Lee reached over took the wallet from Richard's hand. "Secret Service! What the hell is going on?" As his eyes scanned the credentials, he relaxed somewhat. Handing the wallet back to Richard, he returned the gun to his waistband.

Slipping his wallet back into his jacket, Richard looked out the window towards the brightly-lit house. "I've been assigned to watch over the family of Frank West." 

Lee looked over the man carefully, trying to place where he had heard his name before. "Why wasn't I told about this?"

Turning his warm brown eyes back to the hotheaded agent beside him, Richard sighed. "Lee, if you'd known what was going on, you would've pulled your wife and stepsons out of the equation without a blink of an eye. We couldn't afford for you to do that. We needed time to figure out exactly what Weasel is up to and how he still had a connection to Nighthawk."

Lee eyes opened wide as he digested the information. "How in the hell do you know that we're married?"

A rumbling chuckle came from the figure beside him. "Scarecrow, it's hard to hide anything from Big Brother." 

Slamming his hand against the leather steering wheel, Lee's eyes turned cold at the humor the man found in this situation. "So the higher ups thought it would be all right to put an innocent family at risk to get a little information. My stepson is probably in the hands of that damn maniac while we sit here with our thumbs up our butt!"

Raking his fingers through his graying hair, Richard glanced over at Lee. "We didn't think the kids would be a target. I've been following you and Amanda. I figured with your past history with that scum, he would've come after your wife. When the rest of the family arrived, I arranged for a couple of guys to watch over the boys, but I should've known not to leave rookies to watch after kids. They got bored when Phillip stayed so long at the girl's house and took a donut break. When they got back, they saw you leaving the house and finding Phillip's hat."

"Where the hell were _you_?"

"I stayed behind and talked to Nighthawk after you and the ladies left. I wanted to see what he remembered about the group of renegades. I had another officer follow the three of you back here. The agent I sent with you called me when he learned what happened. I filled Nighthawk in and then left to come here."

Reaching for the phone, Lee looked at the calm man beside him. "I need to call Billy and get some of my own people here to make sure that the remainder of _my_ family is safe. I think they need to be moved to a safe house with twenty-four/seven guards." 

Shaking his head, Richard placed his hand on the phone before Lee. "Actually, the Swan is a safe house that many of the President's men have used over the years. We're in a code red at the moment, and soon the house will be locked down. The owners…caretakers are agents. They'll make sure that everyone stays put and out of trouble."

Lee leaned his head back against the seat and placed his left hand over his eyes. What had begun as a small throb at the back of his neck was steadily working its way to his temples, and he knew it was only going to get worse. "It seems almost ironic that I would happen to pick a safe house to take my family to on a fun trip."

Another softer chuckle escaped Richard's lips. "Lee, do you honestly think it was a coincidence that you stayed here over the years when you came to visit? Do you remember the first time you stayed here?"

Lee straightened in his seat and furrowed his eyebrows. "What in the hell are you talking about?"

"We've been watching anyone who has had contact with Nighthawk ever since he came back to the States after the war. After we witnessed your first visit with him, we arranged to have Cindy convince you that this was the place to stay. Do you remember her?"

A brief smile crossed Lee's lips. "Yeah. That was a long time ago."

Rolling his eyes Richard continued. "She's one of my agents. We found out about your status as an agent and your connection to Nighthawk. Deciding that this was the best place to keep an eye on you, we sent her out to _encourage_ you to stay here. If my memory serves me correctly, you were quite the playboy until Mrs. King was dropped into your lap." A wide smile crossed his lips as he smacked his knee with his hand. "Lord, how the higher-ups squirmed when they found out that Amanda was one of us. "

Lee rubbed his temples with his fingers. So much was starting to fit into place that had happened over the years. "So, Smyth knew about Amanda?"

"Yep. He was told to make sure that you two stayed together. We figured that if we put the two of you together, it'd be easier to watch you both. So, if anything ever came up about Nighthawk, we'd immediately know without having to keep a watch over you two day and night. The only things that we didn't count on were that Amanda would turn out to be such an excellent agent, or that you two would fall in love."

Lee threw his hands up in the air. "So that's why Smyth has been such a hateful son-of-a-bitch. He's had to leave us alone by direct orders from the President?"

"Yes. He never liked the thoughts of a housewife amongst his own well-trained children. So, I'm afraid he made it hard on you." 

Lee once again leaned his head back onto the chair. "So he knows we're married?"

Pulling a cigarette from his pocket, Richard nodded. "Yep. He wasn't a fun one to deal with when he was told to leave the two of you alone."

Changing the subject from himself, Lee began questioning Richard about Nighthawk. "I follow everything you've been telling me, but why is Nighthawk so important to the President? I can't figure out why the President would go to all this trouble just to keep tabs on one pilot all these years? Better yet, why didn't anyone tell Amanda that her father was alive?"

Richard lit his cigarette and took a deep draw. "As you know, Nighthawk had a list of couriers that Weasel used and a list of contacts in the government. We received a distorted message over our radio communications from one of the privates in Nighthawk's camp right before Weasel's men attacked and killed them. There were two lists: one was a list of couriers, the other contained a list of government officials, some of whom are quite possibly _still_ holding office. We never found the list. Nighthawk was, as you know, crippled by the crash. His memory of the event was pretty much null and void." 

Stopping to roll down his window, he flicked his ashes onto the concrete below. "Now, to answer your question about we never told Amanda that her father was alive. Well, that was to protect her from those thinking they could use her to obtain information about the list. If everyone thought she had no contact with him, then she'd be safe. Besides that, you kept her in enough trouble."

Lee slightly coughed as the smoke encircled his face. "So, somebody decided to make the decision about her life, not to mention her mother's life, for her!"

Looking out the window at the house, Richard took another long draw on his cigarette, causing it to give off an eerie glow in the darkness of the vehicle. "Yes. I didn't agree with it, but that's what happened. When we learned Weasel was about to re-enter the States, we decided it was time to reunite the family for their own protection. We sent Melrose the information for you to meet your informant. We knew you couldn't come here without paying a visit to your war buddy. And you inviting the rest of the family was a surprise, but it might help Nighthawk in the end."

Glancing back to the young agent beside him, he continued. "If anyone gets their hands on that list before we do, there could be some serious ramifications in the big house. They could blackmail officials that were involved into doing things to put or national security at risk. If Weasel gets a hold of it, we'll never know how deep all this shit runs and what could be going on today with those men."

Lee straightened in his seat and rolled his own window down slightly. "So, am I correct in assuming you think that Amanda and her family's presence here will bring back Nighthawk's memory?"

"Yes. That's why we had all this security set up."

Lee turned an angry face at the man beside him. "Well, I don't think they do their job very well. Phillip's gone!"

"Yeah, I know they slacked, but I've got a crack team airborne at the moment. Weasel must have received more information about something or has another big deal going down and wants all of this past stuff finished." 

"I'm going to call Billy and have him send in some of my own." Lee picked up the car phone and dialed the office. "Scarecrow here. Get me Melrose!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda closed the door to the bedroom she shared with her mother and leaned against it. Kurt was with Dotty now, and she felt safe in the fact that he would protect her mother tonight. Amanda had given her mother as much of an explanation as she could. Trying to be strong for her mother, she had held back her own tears for what seemed like an eternity. 

She straightened and moved before her sons' room. Opening the door slightly, she smiled at the shadow of her youngest, safe and asleep. She quietly closed the door and began to head for the stairway. As she neared them, she heard a faint ringing in her ears and realized the sound was coming from within her. She tugged her lower lip with her teeth as her chest tightened and she desperately tried to catch her breath. Arriving at the top of the stairs, she reached out to grasp the banister as her knees buckled as the stress and worry she'd been keeping hidden caught up with her. She forced herself to sit down on the top step. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she rested her head on her knees.

Lee and Richard entered the house deep in discussion over the arrangements that Billy had made. Looking to the top of the stairs, Lee saw the shaking form of his wife. "I need to—"

Richard gave Lee a reassuring slap on the back. "Go on. I need to talk to the caretakers for a few, but I need you and Amanda back down here as soon as you can. We need to get started on straightening out this mess. I feel sure we will hear something from Weasel anytime now."

Already turned away, Lee nodded absently to the senior agent and quickly closed the distance between himself and his wife. Sitting on the step below her, he placed his hands on her arms, grimacing when he felt the intensity of her trembling. "Amanda?"

Amanda lifted her head to look into his soft eyes. "I'm scared." Reaching her hands out for her husband's support, she turned her body towards him as he moved next to her, enfolding her in his arms. She tried to speak again, but clenched her teeth against the sobs that threatened to overwhelm her.

Lee felt her body jerk as she fought with her emotions. As she tightened her arms around him, he thought his heart would break. Drawing her closer, he whispered in a voice filled with emotion, "I'm so sorry."

Amanda shook her head, slowly at first and then with more conviction. Releasing her tight hold, she drew back in his arms, and took his face in her hands. "It's not your fault, Lee." When he started to speak, she brushed his lips with her own. "No, don't even believe for a second that it is." Dropping her head to his shoulder, she said, "I just had a bad moment. I'll be okay."

Lee laughed mirthlessly. "You're always okay, Amanda. Whenever anyone needs you, you're there for them, without hesitation or thought for yourself. You amaze me beyond words." He gently disentangled himself from her embrace and stood, pulling her up with him. Standing at the top of the stair for a moment to give them both a chance to gain their balance, he said softly, "You'll never stop amazing me."

Taking a steadying breath, Amanda smiled softly, almost shyly. "I love you."

With the back of his right hand, Lee caressed the side of her face. "I love you, too." After another moment, as they clasped hands and drew strength from each other, he said, "We need to go downstairs and talk. Are you ready?" 

"Yeah. As long as you're with me, I'm ready."

Lee tilted his head and regarded her tenderly. Taking her hand in his, he led her down the steps and into the living room. Guiding her to the couch he sat down beside her without ever releasing her hands. "Amanda, I _will_ find Phillip." Sighing, he continued, "I spoke to Billy, and well, there's some other information I need to tell you. Are you up to it?"

Amanda leaned against his shoulder and sighed. "What else could there be?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Phillip brought his hands to his head and released a loud moan. As he opened his eyes, fear raced through his young body. The small room he found himself in was littered with empty boxes and crumpled newspapers. Rubbing his head, he looked towards the only light in the room, the moon made soft shadows on the opposite walls, revealing the bars that enclosed the window frame. "Mom? Are you here? Where am I?"

The door squeaked open, and Phillip scooted back across the bed until his body molded against the wall. Squinting against the bright light that engulfed the room when the shadowy figure flipped the light switch, Phillip's eyes widened as they adjusted to the light. Gulping the fear that was quickly rising in his throat, he yelled at the frightening stranger that entered. "I want to go home! Where's my mother?"

Weasel smiled at the boy's obvious fear of him. "Don't worry. Your mommy will be here shortly. If you know what's good for you, you'll be a good little boy and do as I say." 

As Weasel approached him, he pulled a shining blade from its sheath on his leg. "I just need your coat and a little proof that I have you." 

Phillip jumped from the bed and retreated to the corner. "Let me go!"

Weasel slowly stalked the thin form, his jade-green eyes glowing with excitement at the fear so thick in the air. "If you hold still, this will be…hmm… not so painful."

Phillip tried to push past the man before him, only to be caught in Weasel's strong arms and flung him to the bed. The force of the shove was so hard, Phillip ended up slamming his shoulder against the wall, and he cried out in pain.

"Take off your jacket…or I'll cut it off!"

Phillip, now even more frightened than before, did as he was asked and handed it to him. 

Weasel stepped forward and grabbed the boy's hair. "Hold still." He yanked harshly at the hair on the back of the Phillip's head and slashed downward with his knife. Looking at the strands he now held, he muttered, "This should do nicely. All right, I've got a message to prepare." Turning, he headed out of the room and locked the door behind him. 

Chapter 9

Richard stopped in the front entrance as he noticed the headlights of a van and multiple cars entering the parking lot of the Swan. Glancing at the two agents holding each other for the support they would need in the following hours, he opened the front door to greet the incoming agents and Nighthawk. 

Richard cringed at the regret he held. He would never be able to make it up the man being assisted into his wheelchair, for not telling him about his family. 'You've paid the price for your country. It's time your country gave you something in return.' Richard exhaled a large sigh over his thoughts as he headed down the stairs to assist the Captain into the house.

Nighthawk watched the agent descending the steps and struggled to hold his anger in check. He wanted badly to lash out at someone for the deception that had made his family suffer over the past twelve years. "So, Fire. Where the hell is my family?"

Lighting a cigarette, Richard stopped in front of the crippled pilot. "They're inside. I haven't told them, yet, that you were going to be here. I figured I'd laid enough on them when I filled Lee in on the events surrounding all this shit."

Frank rolled his eyes and huffed sarcastically. "Yeah, I'm sure my son-in-law took it with a grain of salt."

A small smile spread over Richard's features. "Yeah, well, he let me live. I guess that's a good start. Come on. Amanda and Lee are in the living room, and we need to get started on figuring out why Weasel still wants you, and why he has your grandson."

Lee met the entourage of agents at the door. Speaking briefly with Lorna, he asked the caretaker to verify each agent's identification, then stepped out onto the porch just as Richard pushed the Captain's wheelchair to the bottom of the steps. "Need a hand, Frank?"

Frank looked up at the young man before him. Their eyes locked as Frank looked for pity or sorrow in them. Instead, he found admiration and sincerity. "Damn right, boy. Get down here and haul my ass into that house. I need to see my baby and meet my youngest grandson." 

Lee quickly joined his friend at the bottom of the steps and placed his hands on the right side of the wheelchair and looked towards Richard. "Ready to for lift off?" he asked. Richard nodded at Lee and lifted the left side of the chair. 

As they ascended the steps, Frank looked at his son-in-law. "I hope you handle this thing better than you do a plane." he released a rumbling laugh as he spoke. 

Lee and Richard eased the wheelchair onto the porch. "See, Captain?" Lee said as he stepped around front of Frank. "You made it in one piece. My skills have greatly improved since we last shared a plane."

Richard raised his eyebrows and let a soft whistle blow through his lips as he walked around the two arrogant men and entered the house. 

Frank reached for the screen door then stopped. "Lee."

Lee stepped behind Frank and placed his hand on his shoulder as he looked where his eyes focused. "Yeah, Nighthawk."

Wheeling his chair to face Lee, Frank looked up at him with a pondering expression. "She's the most beautiful and amazing woman I've ever laid eyes on. Except, of course, her mother."

Lee's eyes softened as he watched Amanda ushering the agents around the living room. He smiled as he heard her giving each of them as much of the details of the case as she knew at the moment. "Yes, she is."

The Captain smiled at the unconscious change of demeanor he'd seen in Lee once before when the young man looked at Amanda. His thoughts wandered back to the past and he sighed as he wheeled his chair to the edge of the porch. "Lee, I think we need to talk about the last time you came to visit me."

Lee shuffled his feet as he slumped against the porch rail. "Yeah, we never really discussed that, did we?"

Looking up to the sky, Frank let out a heavy sigh. "You know that I'm not very good at saying 'I'm sorry.'"

Turning to look out at the yard, Lee placed his hands on the rail and turned his eyes to where the Captain's focus lay. "Yeah, I know. I'm not too good at that myself." His lips pursed slightly as he thought about how much he and the Captain seemed to have in common.

Continuing to keep his eyes averted away from Lee, the Captain placed his hand over that of his friend's. "I said a lot of things I shouldn't have. I didn't—"

Lee pulled his attention from the sky and looked at his long-time friend. "I'm sorry, too. We don't have to talk about it."

Frank's eyes locked with Lee's. "Yes, we do. I'm sorry you lost your partner and I wasn't there for you. I should never have taken my own self-pity out on you. You've always been like a son to me, and I turned ya away."

Lee gave the wrinkled hand a tight squeeze. "It was a tough time for both of us. We both didn't get our hot-headed reputation for nothing, you know."

A soft chuckle could be heard in the night air as Frank returned Lee's grasp. "Us…hot-headed? Noooo--"

Lee joined in his laughter. "So I'm told."

Frank's voice became somber as he thought about Lee's last visit. "It was the anniversary of my family's death, and I took it out on you. I never should've told you that you didn't understand how it was to loose everything. You already had lost so much in your life, and then your partner was taken away the same date that my family was ripped away from me." Taking a deep breath, Frank looked back out at the open sky.

Lee shoved his hands in his pockets as he stepped back from the rail, walked over, and eased himself down to sit on the front steps. "Did I ever tell you why I finally decided to call you three years ago?"

Frank rolled his wheelchair behind Lee. "Nope. I just figured you took pity on an old man." He watched Lee lean back and prop his elbows on the step behind him.

Keeping his eyes alert to the passing pedestrians, Lee smiled at the memory. "A very special woman came into my life about two years before I called you. It took me a little while to pay attention, but she started to make me realize that family was important. Even though I thought I didn't need anyone, she kept after me to become 'normal.'"

Frank remained quiet as he cast a quick glance into the house, his eyes finding the brunette in the living room who was assisting Lorna with hostess duties at the same time she was discussing official matters.

Lee closed his eyes as the smell of fresh brewed coffee flowed out into the cold night air. "She didn't even realize that her gentle ways and constant understanding of my fly-off-the-handle moods opened my heart to love again. I was so lucky to have found Amanda."

Frank placed his hand on Lee's shoulder. "So, you told her about me, and she got you to call?"

Still watching the passersby, Lee stood and climbed onto the porch. Laughing mirthlessly, he said, "I didn't tell her about you till we were on our way here. No, she helped me deal with my uncle, Colonel Clayton, and I realized that I was missing time with what little family I had left. I also realized that I couldn't let my stubborn ways keep you out of my life, too. So, I picked up the phone and gave you a call."

Frank wheeled his chair to follow Lee to the door. "I'm sure glad you did." Lee looked up at Frank's eyes glistening with unspent tears. "I've missed a lot of important years. I hope you'll be able to help me get back a few of the memories I've misplaced."

Lee nodded his unspoken agreement, thinking of some of the memories Amanda had helped him regain. Both men could here the activity growing in the house and knew the team would soon be preparing for the lockdown stage of the program. 

"Lee," Frank said as Lee reached for the screen door handle, "I've got a favor to ask of you." Lee stepped back, tilting his head at his friend's almost hesitant tone. "I've had the nurses and doctors at the hospital pestering me for years to get some prosthetic legs and go into physical therapy. After all of this is over and my grandson is home," his eyes darted briefly toward the door as Amanda's quiet laugh floated out to them, and then he looked back at the young man next to him, "can I count on you to help me?"

Lee reached over to place a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know I will. Come on, let's go help that daughter of yours out before she has all our agents drinking coffee and relaxing on the couch."

Frank reached up and placed a hand over Lee's, where it rested on his shoulder. "Thank you, son. Thank you for loving my daughter, for protecting her over the past five years, and for being there for her when I wasn't. "

Lee gave the older man's hand a tight squeeze. "No thanks needed. Believe me, I'm the one who's thankful. I just wish I'd realized sooner…"

Frank turned his chair around to face Lee. "What do you mean?"

Shaking his head, Lee ran his left hand through his thick hair. "Nothing really. Maybe I'll explain it to you over a few beers and a steak after all of this is over. Let's get in there!"

Frank rolled his chair to the door as the younger man opened it. Lee followed, giving the wheelchair a little extra push to get over the threshold. Amanda turned away from the agent she'd been talking to and smiled warmly at the vision of her father and Lee entering the house. The presence of her father didn't alarm her; instead she felt at peace with the knowledge that her father had come home to his family. Extending her hand towards him, she took her father's in hers and headed for the living room. "Daddy, come over here next to the fire. You must be frozen."

Jamie stood, fascinated and a bit nervous, at the top of the steps. 'So, this is my grandfather.' The boy took a few steps down to get a better look at the man in the wheelchair. 

Lee looked over at the stairs to see his stepson watching the scene before him. "Jamie," he said quietly, stepping closer to the staircase, "come on down here. I want to introduce you to a few folks."

Jamie slowly walked down the steps, never taking his eyes off the man next to his mother. Stepping close to Lee, he whispered, "Lee, is that really my grandfather?"

Lee placed his hand on his stepson's left shoulder. "Yep. Want to go meet him?"

Jamie looked up at Lee. "Yeah, I guess so. Who are all these other people running around with guns? Are they the police?"

Lee nodded and, tightening his grip on the boy's shoulder reassuringly pulled him towards the living room. "Something like that. They're federal agents who are here to make sure that the man who took your grandfather away from you guys so long ago, doesn't cause anymore harm to us. They're also here to help us find Phillip."

Jamie stayed close to Lee as they walked towards the living room. Pausing when they had reached the doorway when he caught sight of his mother. Suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to be near her, he slowly made his way over to where she was. "Mom…"

Amanda smiled warmly at Jamie and wrapped her right arm around his shoulders as soon as he had reached her side. "Jamie, this is your grandfather, Captain Frank West."

Jamie stood silent as his eyes met those of the older man. Frank extended his hand to the young man before him. "Nice to finally meet you, Jamie." He glanced up briefly at Lee who had wrapped his left arm around Amanda's waist and moved to stand behind his stepson.

Jamie's hand trembled as he reached out to shake the disfigured man's hand. "Yes, sir."

Frank released Jamie's hand after a brief shake. He could see the uncertainty in the boys eyes caused by his scars and the absence of his legs. "I must look like something out of a horror movie to you, boy."

Jamie took a step back closer to Lee. "Yes, sir…" When Amanda opened her mouth to reprimand her son, Lee tightened his embrace to stop her. "I mean no, sir. It's just…you don't look like all the pictures Grandma and Mom have of you."

Frank's robust laughter filled the room. The agents in the surrounding rooms momentarily stopped their tasks of setting up communication posts and boarding up the house to look at the usually quiet man. "I've definitely changed. I'll have to tell you some stories one of these days." Wheeling his chair towards the couch, he motioned for Jamie to take a seat.

Jamie hesitated as he looked over at his mother. "Mom?"

Amanda gently extracted herself from her husband's embrace, placing her hand on her son's shoulder and walked with him over to the couch. Sitting down, she patted the seat beside her for Jamie to sit. "Jamie, your grandfather has been through a lot. We all have some catching up to do, so Dad, why don't you tell him a little about yourself."

Frank gave Amanda a lavish wink and started telling Jamie about some of his wild escapades in the sky. Jamie quickly became enthralled in his flamboyant tales and eased back into the couch, oblivious to everything but his grandfather. 

Dotty and Kurt stood in the doorway of the living room, both quiet and, in their own way, nervous at the situation that was quickly unfolding. Dotty took Kurt's hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze before they joined her family. "Frank, I see you've met your youngest grandson."

Frank's brown eyes held a hint of green in their sparkle as Dotty drew near. 'So many wasted years that can never be reclaimed.' He shook his head to the regrets echoing in his mind and gave his wife a lavish smile. "Yes, Dotty. He's a wonderful young man."

Dotty gently smiled at Jamie, noting his apparent comfort in talking to his grandfather. Taking a seat across from the couch, Dotty gave Kurt a brief smile then turned her attention to her husband. "I didn't realize that you'd be coming here."

Frank patted Jamie's hand then proceeded to roll his chair beside his wife. "I'm sorry to throw all of this at you at one time, Dotty. With Phillip's kidnapping, they decided to bring me here for protection."

Dotty closed her eyes and tried to regain control of the anger that flashed through her body. Opening her eyes, she found Frank's soft eyes pleading with her. "I understand that this man is after some information that you might have?"

Frank's voice cracked as he spoke. "Yes, Dotty. If I'd known that any of this could've happened, I would've stayed in 'Nam. I'm so sorry for the pain I've caused my family."

Dotty looked into the sad eyes of her husband, and a sudden realization hit her. Frank had suffered just as much as, if not more than, she had all these years. At least she'd had Amanda and the boys to keep her mind occupied and her life fulfilled. He'd been left with nothing. "It's not your fault, Frank. Besides, I have know, deep down, that we'll get him back."

Kurt watched the family before him and could feel his dreams quickly slipping away. Turning to seek out the solitude of the night air, he stopped at the sound of Dotty's voice. 

"Kurt, come back over here and meet Frank West."

Kurt stiffened as he re-entered the room, unsure of what to expect from the man sitting beside the woman he loved. Frank extended his hand for Kurt to shake. "Nice to meet you, Kurt. Amanda mentioned that you're a flyboy, too."

Kurt accepted the handshake and gave Frank a grateful smile for his understanding. "Nice to meet you, too."

The reunion was quickly ended as the sound of footsteps running up the front steps was met with the sound of numerous guns being drawn and aimed at the door. Fighting the urge to go for his own gun, Lee quickly gathered his stepson and mother-in-law and, leaning into Amanda, who had immediately joined him to provide a human shield, herded them towards the stairs. "You guys had better head upstairs."

Dotty started to refuse, until she felt Kurt's hand on her back, urging her to comply. Hearing the knock on the door, Lee nodded to two agents to follow them to their bedroom and maintain a watch over them. After seeing them safely out of site, he placed his body in front of his wife as he drew his own weapon in anticipation of the intruder. 

As another soft knock came from the other side of the door, Richard opened it. The man dropped the package into Richard's hands at the site of all the guns aimed at him. Agents swarmed around him, pushing him against the wall and searching him for weapons. "Hey, where's Lorna?"

Lee walked over and carefully picked up the package. Taking it over to where the man was pinned to the wall by two agents, he asked, "Who are you?" 

The man looked nervously around the room. "Some guy on the street gave me a bottle of liquor and told me to bring this package here and give it to a woman named Amanda."

Lee's eyes narrowed as he grabbed the man's shabby shirt by the color. "What man?" 

Nervously licking his lips, the man looked around, finally seeing the friendly face of Lorna coming into the room. "Lorna, tell this guy who I am."

Lorna joined Lee at the door where the man was being handcuffed. "He's a homeless man that I give hot meals to once or twice a week. He's harmless."

Lee continued his penetrating stare at the frightened man. "What did the man look like?" 

Cowering under the intense scrutiny of the hazel eyes, the man eased his way back against the wall. "Tall…bright red hair…really green eyes." 

Lee snorted with disgust. "Get him out of here." Taking the package into the living room, his eyes locked with Frank's as both men agreed that Weasel had sent it. Laying the package down on the coffee table, Lee carefully checked it for traps before opening it. "Okay, everybody, get back."

Amanda stood beside her father, her hand tightly wrapped within his bulky fingers, as she watched Lee gently remove the brown paper. Glancing up at Amanda before opening the lid, he gave her a small reassuring smile. Turning his attention back to the package, his hands began to shake lightly as he lifted a familiar coat from the box. 

Amanda's eyes were riveted on the coat clutched in Lee's hands. She abruptly released her father's hand and closed the distance to her husband. "Lee, that's Phillip's coat!"

Before Amanda could reach him, Lee balled the coat up and shoved it back into the box. "Yeah. I'll have the lab look over it for clues." Lee handed the box to Richard then turned to face his distraught wife.

Amanda pushed past Lee and grabbed the box from the unprepared agent. "Lee, I want to see that. It's my son's!" She jerked the box from the man's grasp and yanked the lid off. Her eyes immediately clouded with threatening tears as she pulled the coat from the box, allowing the container to drop to the floor. "Oh God. Please let him be all right." She closed her eyes as she hugged the material to her chest. Burying her face into the coat, she began to sway suddenly.

Before anyone else could react, Lee's arms were wrapped solidly around Amanda's body. Murmuring softly to her, he gathered her close and bent his head protectively over hers. Many of the room's occupants looked away, giving the couple a moment of privacy, while a few watched the intense display of love with a twinge of envy.

Gently, Lee turned his wife in his arms and, ensuring she was once again steady on her feet, put his hands on the coat she was still clutching. "Amanda, let me have Richard send it to the lab for testing. Check for fingerprints and anything else they can find."

Amanda tightened her grip momentarily before relinquishing it to Lee when she saw her father approaching. Her words were barely above a whisper as she nodded and let him take her son's coat. "Okay."

Taking the coat from his wife, Lee handed it to Richard then took Amanda's hands in his and led her to the couch. 

Frank leaned over the arm of his chair and picked up the empty box. "There's a letter in here." He pulled the letter from the box and handed it to Lee. "It's addressed to Amanda."

Amanda looked up at Lee as he opened the letter. Attached to the upper corner was a handful of Phillips blond hair. Covering up the strands with his palm, Lee began reading the letter aloud, as all eyes focused on him.

__

Mrs. Stetson,

You have something that belongs to me. For the return of my microfilm, I will make sure that your son is returned to you. The longer you wait to give me what I want, the worse shape your son will be in when he is returned to you. To give you a hint, it's contained in the last gift your father ever gave you. Retrieve the item and wait for further instructions. You are to do this alone. Scarecrow is to stay put, or the boy will die. 

Weasel

Lee closed the letter and then looked up at Frank. "What's he talking about?" He rose and walked over to Richard, slyly passing the letter to the agent. Noticing his wife's attention focused on her father, he whispered, "Have that hair tested, too. Find out if it really is Phillip's."

Richard nodded his understanding and headed into an adjacent room to arrange to have the items sent to the lab.

Amanda slowly sat on the couch as she remembered the gift that Weasel was referring to. "Daddy, do you remember the china panda you sent me? I received it just before we got word about your chopper going down."

Frank rolled his chair in front of Amanda. "I do now. Oh my God, Panda."

Amanda closed her eyes and leaned back against the couch. She had to think of what to do. She knew that Lee would never let her do this alone, but the life of her child was at stake. 

Lee joined her on the couch and placed his left hand on her knee. "Amanda, where is it?"

Opening her eyes, Amanda looked to her father. "Jamie broke it when he was three." She didn't dare look at her husband, afraid he would see the deception in her eyes.

Frank tilted his head to the side and studied his daughter's eyes. "So you don't have it anymore?"

Shaking her head no, she turned to her husband. "Why would I keep it if it was broken? What do we do now?"

Noticing how tired and drained his wife looked, Lee tightened his grip on her hands. "I think you need to go and get some rest while Richard, Nighthawk, and I come up with some sort of a plan to get Phillip back."

Amanda leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his check. "I think you're right." With that said, she stood, placed a gentle kiss on her father's check and headed for the stairs. "Goodnight."

Lee looked from his father-in-law to the woman retreating up the steps, and then back, locking eyes with the older man. "That was way too easy."

Frank looked questioningly at him. "What do you mean?"

Lee looked back at the man in the wheelchair. "Your daughter never gives in like that without a fight."

"Maybe she's just tired," Richard put in. He didn't know Amanda like Lee did, but anyone could see that the woman who had just ascended the stairs was definitely exhausted.

Turning his attention to the older gentleman, Lee shook his head. "Trust me, Amanda's not telling us something. I can feel it."

"Well let's get some plans laid out, and then you can head upstairs and check on her." Frank suggested. Lee reluctantly nodded, and the trio began to head into one of the downstairs rooms to discuss their next plans. As Frank followed the other two men, he glanced quickly towards the top of the stairs. He was pretty sure Lee's hunch about his daughter was right, but now was not the time to get sidetracked. Weasel was out there somewhere with his grandson, and they needed to devise a plan to get Phillip back safely, since the only bargaining chip they had no longer existed.

To be continued…


	4. Giving Thanks for What We Have - Part 4

Disclaimers: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned authors. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you would like to add it to an archive, please just let us know.

Summary: This story takes place after the series has ended. It's a "sequel" of sorts to our story _"More Than Meets the Eye."_ A man from Lee's past turns Amanda's family life upside down.

Author's Notes: We did extensive research surrounding the Vietnam War and events that took place during that time. Some scenarios mentioned really did occur; we just added the wonderful world of SMK to them. Any airplane scenes mentioned we checked with a flight expert to handle any reality issues as we wrote. A very special thank you to Tammy for beta reading and being a true part of helping us write this story.

Timeframe: Thanksgiving the year they were married.

Rating: R (some suggestive situations and language)

**__**

Giving Thanks for What We Have

By Diane & Amy (Two Phantoms)

Chapter 10

Standing before her sons' bedroom door, Amanda's heart and mind were battling within her. 'I've got to get back to Arlington and get that panda. My only problem is that Lee can't go with me. What if one of Weasel's men saw him with me and Weasel decides to take out his anger on Phillip?' Turning her back to face the wall, she used it to support her as she slid down to rest on the floor. 'I didn't really lie to them.' She let her head fall back against the wall. 'It did break…I just didn't throw it away.' A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she listened to her husband's booming voice below. 

Closing her eyes, she imagined his tirade over the agents as he gave each one their orders to protect his family. Images of her oldest son flashed through her mind…hurt, bleeding or worse…causing a shiver to spread throughout her body. 'I know what I have to do. If Lee were to go with me Weasel would kill him, and then I would loose them both. I have to do this alone.' 

She jumped to her feet as she heard Jamie's door open. "Mom! I think I've got something."

Amanda placed her hands on her excited son's shoulders. "Calm down, sweetheart. What is it?"

Jamie opened his right hand and revealed a roll of film to his mother. "I took a lot of pictures today, while you, Lee and Grandma went to see Grandpa. I was thinking that maybe I got some shots of whoever took Phillip. Do you think that maybe we could get them developed!?!"

Amanda took the roll of film from his hand, trying to keep her breathing even and her hand steady. "I think that's a wonderful idea. I'll go see how soon we can get these pictures developed." Squeezing the small black container in her right hand, an idea began to take shape in her mind. Seeing the worried look on Jamie's face, she pulled her son to her and wrapped her arms around him. "It's going to be fine, Jamie. The government agents downstairs are going to start hunting for Phillip. They're the best the government has."

Jamie returned his mother's embrace. "I'm scared."

Amanda placed her chin on the top of Jamie's head and softly started to sway their bodies back and forth. "Me, too, sweetheart. Me, too. We just have to believe." Pulling back slightly, she looked into his glistening brown eyes. "Sweetheart, I have to go down now and see about getting this film developed." 

Jamie released his mother and stepped back. "What can I do?" 

Amanda smiled at the courage Jamie was trying to show. "Tomorrow will be a hard day. Your grandmother's going to need you now more than ever." She opened the door to his room. "Try and get some sleep, okay?"

Jamie nodded, but hesitated before entering his room. "Mom?"

Amanda had started towards the steps but stopped at the sound of her son's voice. "Yes, sweetheart."

"I love you." Jamie entered his room and closed the door behind him. 

A feeling of pride in her youngest son swept over her, as she gently wiped away the single tear that had begun to well up in her eye. "I love you, too," she said to the now-empty hallway, and then turned and headed back downstairs.

Lee's trained ears heard the soft footsteps descending the stairs. Standing from the kitchen table, he entered the foyer and looked up at his wife coming down the steps. "I thought you were going to catch a few z's?"

Knowing that her husband would want to develop the film tonight, Amanda's mind began to race as she tried to figure out a way to put her plan into action. Placing a sweet smile on her face she quickened her pace down the steps. "Jamie gave me this roll of film." Reaching the bottom, she held her hand in front of Lee's face and opened her palm. "He said that he took lots of pictures today, before Phillip was taken. Maybe we have something on here we could use. A tag number, a face, a vehicle description--"

"Amanda, slow down." Lee took the offering she held in her hand then took her hand in his and led her to the kitchen.

Amanda looked around at the once-quiet kitchen that was now flooded with activities aimed at finding her son and capturing the elusive Weasel. Her eyes fell on the tired form of her father. A soft smile crossed her lips as his eyes locked with hers. A sudden surge of guilt racked her body as she recognized the look in his eyes. She hadn't seen that look in over twenty years, not since Debbie Ann, but she knew what it meant. It meant that he knew what she was planning, but would he tell? "Lee, don't you think we should get it developed? I think it could be just the lead we need. You know how Jamie is with that camera you gave him. I bet he got lots of pictures of—"

Amanda's rambling was cut off when Richard stood from the table and stood before her and Lee. "What _are_ you talking about, Amanda?"

Lee started to explain before Amanda could utter a word. "Jamie took pictures today before Phillip was taken. I'm sure that Weasel had the place watched before attempting such a thing, so maybe Jamie caught it on film."

Richard took the small piece of gold, in the form of a black roll, from Lee's hand. "We need to get this shit developed. It might just be our only hope."

Lee tightened his grip on his wife's hand. "So, send one of your guys back to your agency and have it developed A.S.A.P.!"

Lorna shook her head as she joined the small group. "Can't do it tonight. The film guy at the agency is out having back surgery, and the woman who's helping out only works during the day. I'll carry it over first thing in the morning."

Lee released Amanda's hand and agitatedly ran has left hand through his hair. "I'll be damned if we're waiting until tomorrow morning. We need to get this done tonight…every minute counts!"

Amanda placed her hand on Lee's left shoulder. "Why don't you develop it here? You and Jamie have been practicing, and I'll just bet Lorna will let you use the basement as a darkroom."

Lee's eyes lit up with excitement. "Yeah! I just need a few things to get started." He grabbed a pen and began to jot down items. "Richard, could you send one of your guys out to pick this stuff up for me?"

Richard took the paper Lee offered. "Not a problem. Carl, get in here!"

Amanda glanced over at her father's quiet form. His eyes still held that look of uncertainty about her actions. Mustering her courage, she decided it was now or never. "Lee, could I go with him? If I stay here, I'll go crazy with nothing to do. Mother and Jamie are asleep. You and the rest of the group will be following up on any leads, and making plans."

The skin of Lee's forehead wrinkled as he thought over her suggestion. "It'd be a lot safer for you here."

Amanda stood between her husband and the rest of the group. "Lee, I really need a break. We won't be gone long, and I'm sure that Carl is a top agent. Right, Richard?"

Richard agreed that Amanda needed some time away from the situation. "Yep. He's one of my best. But to make sure nothing happens, I'll send Lewis with you as well. There's not much trouble you could find yourself in with two escorts."

Lee sighed at that comment and peered around Amanda's shoulder to look at Frank. Frank had made himself busy going over old files from his war days and didn't seem to see Lee's questioning eyes. Amanda's soft brown eyes pleaded with him to let her go. "I wish you wouldn't look at me that way, Amanda. You know I can't say no."

She brushed her lips to his cheek as she scurried by him and headed up the steps. "I just need to get my purse, and I'll be right down."

Amanda exhaled the breath she had been holding as she reached the top of the steps. 'Phase one complete. Now to deal with the two watchdogs, and I'm on my way.'

Opening the door slightly to her room, Amanda witnessed a simple and happy moment in the lives of two people in love. Dotty slept on the bed, while Kurt sat in a chair beside her equally asleep but clutching her hand tightly in his. As she moved softly to the table to retrieve her purse, she committed the image to memory. Closing the door quietly, she hoped her mother would be able to find happiness in the days ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~

Leaving the camera shop with the items on Lee's list, Amanda decided it was time to put her plan into action. "Hey, guys. Would you mind if we went into the grocery store over there?" She pointed to the store across the street. "Poor Lorna. She hadn't expected so many of you, and the refrigerator is almost bare. Now, I know how many agents are about food on an operation like this. I'd really like to take a few things back now, so she doesn't have to make a trip tomorrow." 

Watching the men open the van door and place the items for the film in the back, she continued her rambling. "I know my little boy will wake up starving to death, and he has so much to worry about, and I just want to make him comfortable. I like to cook when I'm nervous. I can make a pretty mean chicken noodle soup for all of you when we get back. Is there anything that you guys like specifically? I'm sure I make whatever you like for breakfast. Lee's not a big eater in the morning but--"

Lewis' head spun with her never-ending chatter. "Mrs. King, we'll be glad to go with you to the grocery store. Everything looks fairly calm. Just remember to stay with us. Okay?"

Amanda gave him her best warm smile as she took a seat in the back of the van. "Oh, thank you. You just don't know how much this means to me."

The two men rolled their eyes at each other before they proceeded to get into the van and drive across to the supermarket parking lot. Once at their new destination, Amanda smiled innocently as she retrieved a shopping cart and started down the first aisle of the grocery store. The agents' eyes widened as she pulled what appeared to be a two-page shopping list from her purse. "I wrote down a few things we might need on the way to the camera shop earlier. It won't take too long, I promise."

Two aisles over and thirty minutes later, the agents were becoming more and more anxious as the cart began filling up. Carl looked at Lewis and shrugged his shoulders as Amanda placed another box of cereal in the cart. "Mrs. King, we really do need to head back. I'm sure Fire and Scarecrow are anxiously awaiting us."

Amanda batted her eyes at the frustrated agents. "I'm so sorry, Carl, I hadn't thought of that. Why don't you give Lee a call, and tell him we'll be home in a few minutes. I think I saw a pay phone at the back of the store, next to the water fountain."

Carl exhaled a large breath as he started towards the back of the store. 

"Carl, if you want, you could give me the keys so we could head on up to the registers, check out, and be putting the groceries in the van."

Agent Carl looked at Agent Lewis then back to Amanda. "Okay, if it'll things speed up here." He handed her the keys and took off to the back of the store." 

Amanda turned to face Lewis as she handed him half the list. "Lewis, if you want you could go pick up these items over on the last aisles. It's not much, just a jug of milk, some bread and a couple of other odds and ends. That way we can get out of here and on our way back to the Swan a lot quicker." 

Trying to decide if he should leave her, his eyes darted around the aisle. "I really shouldn't leave you alone, Scarecrow'd have my hide if anything happens to you. Believe me, I don't want to cross him, he spent five minutes describing in explicit detail, what he'd do to us if we let _anything_ happen to you."

Amanda placed her hand on his arm. "Now, Lewis, the store is practically empty and Carl is just an aisle over. If you get these things, we can meet up front in just a few minutes, pay for all the groceries, and then we can leave. I'm sure Mr. Fire would want us to do this as fast as we can."

Lewis rubbed his hands over his face and then took the list from Amanda. "I'll meet you up front in _five_ minutes."

Amanda gave him a pat on the arm and continued down the aisle, throwing items into her cart as she went. Once she saw him round the corner to the next aisle, she left the cart and headed to the front of the store. Eyeing a stock boy, she rushed over to him. Placing her most worried and frightened expression on her face, she said in a hushed but desperate voice, "There are two guys in here who have guns! I saw one of them on the phone in the back, and the other is sneaking around over on the last aisle. I think maybe they plan on robbing the store."

The stock boy rushed over to the office and picked up the phone, and quickly began dialing the local police. Amanda took advantage of the distracted boy and agents and ducked out the door. 

After another long lecture from Scarecrow, this time detailing how easily Mrs. King found trouble, Carl headed to search the aisles for her. Finding Lewis on the last aisle, his hands full of groceries, Carl's expression grew concerned. "Where's Mrs. King?" 

Lewis shoved a gallon of milk into Carl's hand. "Betty Crocker's getting the rest of the stuff we need and meeting us up front."

Carl started to the front of the store. "I didn't see her when I came to find you." 

Lewis' pace quickened as he followed his partner. Frantically looking over the shelves for a glimpse of the familiar brown curls, he quickly came to a frightening conclusion. "Aw, shit."

Both men were met by armed police officers as they reached the front checkouts. "Freeze! Put your hands up and face the wall!"

Lewis and Carl looked at each other, their faces stunned as they dropped the items they were carrying and did as they were told. 

Carl looked out the large windows of the store just in time to see the Secret Service van leaving the parking lot. His eyes grew wide with shock. "I think we've been tricked by a housewife."

Lewis' intense gaze matched Carl's. "I think we're in a shit-load of trouble when we get back to the safe house!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Phillip bolted upright on the cot as the sounds of shouting echoed outside his prison. As he tried to stand, he leaned on his injured arm. Wincing in pain, he placed his opposite hand over the bruised arm and began to move slowly around the room. Hearing the angry voices outside his door end as a loud shot rang out, he moved quickly back to the corner and sat on the floor. 

His mind filled with images of what might become of him, and he began to pray that someone would come and find him. 'Mom, if you find me I promise to listen to the warnings you tell me from now on. Please come and get me. I know I should be brave, but I'm really scared.'

Phillip grit his teeth as he stood. 'Maybe there's something in here I could use to protect myself.' Beginning to look through the empty boxes in desperation, he didn't hear Weasel step into the room. 

Weasel grabbed Phillip's injured arm and flung him to the cot. "You don't follow orders very well. I hope your mother is better at it than you are."

Phillip narrowed his eyes at his captor. "What do you want with me!?!"

Placing his gun back in its holster, Simon joined the two. "You never told me what you wanted me to do with that guy's body, Boss."

Phillip's eyes widened at the sight of the giant entering the room. Gulping back the fear that ran up his throat, he maintained a strong appearance. "Let me go! If you don't, I'm sure you'll get in a lot of trouble. My mom has friends in high places. She works with some big government types. So does my soon-to-be-step-dad, Lee Stetson."

Weasel smiled at the boy's obvious attempt to remain brave. "I wouldn't worry about your mother, or her friends. She knows if she wants to see her little boy alive and well, she'd better do as she's told. As for Lee Stetson, I'll deal with him when the time comes. So, be a good boy and stay put. Cause me any more trouble, and I _will_ kill you."

Phillip's eyes remained defiant, but he stayed quiet. Simon stepped behind his boss and gazed over at the boy. "Doesn't look much like his mother, does he?" Placing his hand on one of Weasel's shoulders, and giving it a good squeeze, he continued. "You're not forgetting your promise about her are you?"

Weasel rolled his eyes towards the ceiling and shrugged the bulky hand from his shoulder. Turning to face his employee, he tried to maintain a calm demeanor. "I haven't forgotten, but you need to dispose of our earlier problem. Then, you need to go replace the tail we had on his mother. I just received word that she and two goons left the Swan and are at some camera shop. I want you to stay with her and make sure she gets what we need!"

Simon nodded his understanding then turned to leave the room. 

"Simon!" Weasel's voice stopped him. "Be sure to take these with you." He pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket and flung them at the large man.

Simon caught the pills in his left hand and mockingly saluted his superior. "Yes, sir!"

Phillip watched the big man leave and felt the courage drain from his body. Weasel retrieved a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket and grabbed Phillip's injured arm again. "Just a little extra security. I'll be back to check on you shortly."

Phillip winced as the cold metal snapped closed around his wrist. Weasel's eyes scanned the room, looking for something to fasten him to. "Let me see what I can secure you to in here." His eyes looked at the radiator on the far side of the room. "That should do nicely." Dragging Phillip from the small cot, he fastened him to the metal coils.

Phillip remained quiet as he watched his kidnapper leave. Closing his eyes to the pain that washed over his body, he continued to beg for his mother and Lee to find him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee continued his tirade on the wooden floor of the small dining room as the other occupants stood to the side and tried to avoid his angry glares. "Damn it! They should've been back two hours ago!"

Frank was worried as well, but decided that admitting so would only add fuel to the already out-of-control flame. "Lee, why don't we go over some of the facts we have about Weasel's recent associates? Maybe another quick run through would bring up something we missed before."

Lee's jaw clenched as he looked to the front door again. "Something's not right." Turning his anger on Richard, he continued, "Your agent called over two hours ago and said that they were on their way. What are you doing to find them?"

Just as Richard started to speak the front door slowly opened, and two very weary agents entered. He crossed the floor with lightning speed and stood before the two men. "I want some answers NOW!"

Lee pushed past the two men and looked out the door. "Where is she!?!"

Lewis shuffled his feet and looked to Carl. 

Clearing his throat, Carl summarized the events of the evening. "Getting right to the point: she took off and left us at the store."

Lee's eyes danced with anger as he stood before Carl. "What exactly do you mean 'took off?'"

Carl backed a few steps away from Lee and started to explain, "It's really not our fault. She was so damn confusing. She started going on about getting food and then telling us that we needed to call you. Then she sent me to the other side of the store." Turning his gaze from Scarecrow, he looked over towards Agent Fire. "That's when the cops showed up and arrested us for attempted robbery!"

The muscles in Lee's jaw became more evident with each word Carl spoke. "So, what you're telling me is…that she gave you the slip."

Looking at his agents with disgust, Richard ran his right hand through his hair. "You actually let her out of your sight? I can't believe this shit. I told both of you, before you left, that she is a highly-trained agent and you needed to keep an eye on her at _all _times."

Lewis avoided his boss' glare and focused on the logs that burned in the living room fireplace as he joined his fellow agent in defending their story. "She was just so nice and then she got to rambling about so much we just got confused and wanted to get back here. We didn't' see the harm in humoring her…at the time." Pausing he averted his gaze from the safety of the fireplace and looked Fire square in the eyes. "We found out that a woman fitting her description told the bag boy that we planned to rob the joint, and he called the police. That's when she went to the van and left."

Lee rolled his eyes and flung his arms up in the air. "I can't believe this!" He spun around and paced across the room, then stopped and slowly turned back. Shaking his head, he began to speak again, only this time, his voice was tinged with confusion instead of anger. "I can't believe she would take off like this!"

Frank rolled his chair up next to Lee. "It's her son's life. We both knew she'd try something. You said yourself she'd given up too easily, earlier."

Lee silently agreed with Frank as he glared at the irresponsible agents. "Where in the hell could she've gone?" 

Frank rolled in front of Lee and demanded eye contact with him. "I think she lied about the panda. I bet she's gone back to Arlington to get it. There's only one way to find out. We need to ask Dotty or Jamie about it."

Lee didn't wait for Frank to finish his sentence before he was halfway up the steps heading towards Dotty's room. Giving the door a soft knock when he had reached the door, he entered.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda parked the van in the airport terminal parking lot. Pulling the keys from the ignition, she reached across to the passenger side and unlocked the glove box. Tossing the keys in there, she exited the vehicle and locked the door. Feeling the prying eyes of a tail, she quickened her pace and entered the terminal. 

Much to her surprise, there was an empty seat available on the next flight out to D.C., which was boarding at that very minute. After paying her fees and obtaining her ticket, she sprinted down the crowded corridor to her plane. 

Once on board, she fastened her seat belt and relaxed in the seat. Watching the ground beneath her quickly disappearing, she closed her eyes and thought of what she had to do. 'Lee, I hope you understand. I couldn't sit idly by. I had to do this.'

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee grabbed his jacket from the couch as he breezed through the living room. "Come on, Fire. We've got a plane to catch!"

Richard didn't hesitate and followed Lee to the front door. 

Opening the door, Lee turned to look at Frank. "Jamie only broke the tail off of it. She glued it back on and put the panda away in the attic. She still has the damn thing, and I'm going to find her before Weasel does!"

Frank rolled close to Lee and grabbed his arm. "You bring my stubborn little girl home! I'll keep an eye on things here!"

Lee nodded and closed the door behind him. He jumped off the porch and sprinted down the driveway towards the Blazer. 

Richard followed and joined Lee in the already idling vehicle. Fastening his seatbelt, he braced himself for the ride he knew was ahead. 

As Lee sped through the empty streets, he handed the cell phone to Richard and told him to call Billy. "Tell him everything, and I want a list of all the flights leaving Boston for D.C. I want them checked for Amanda's name."

~~~~~~~~~~

Richard clutched the phone tightly in his hand as they arrived at the airport. The twenty-minute drive, that should have taken an hour, left him a little shaken. "Scarecrow, do you always drive like that?"

Parking the Blazer outside the hangar at which they'd left Captain Kurt's plane, Lee turned cold eyes towards him. "When I need to! So, what did Billy say?"

Richard placed the phone back on the receiver and exited the Blazer. "Amanda's flight landed in D.C. about an hour ago. He has agents heading to her house now."

Lee strode to the hangar office to check with the technician he'd asked to check the prop adjustment on the Cessna. When he came back out, Richard noted he was heading out to the tie-down line.

"Out here, Fire!" he called as he reached for the rope on the wing of a small, tan low-wing. 

Richard walked up to the plane's other wing and began untying the knot that held it snuggly on the ground. "This doesn't look like a Cessna," he said as Lee walked toward him, doing an abbreviated pre-flight check on the small plane.

"It's not," was all Lee said as he walked quickly around the front of the plane. "Skylane's not ready," he called over the plane as he climbed up on the wing and unlocked the pilot's door. Once inside the rather crammed cockpit, he reached over and unlocked the passenger door. "The Mooney's better anyway," he muttered as Fire climbed in. "Faster."

By the time Richard had settled into his seat and closed his door, Lee had already yelled "Clear!" and started the engine. He remained quiet as he watched the agitated man's actions and listened to his conversation with ground control. Fastening his seatbelt as they taxied toward the runway, he said a silent prayer and hoped that Lee would show a little more restraint than he had with the Blazer.

Chapter 11

Amanda's Wagoneer jumped as the front tire ran over the curb in front of her driveway. Glancing at the clock in her dashboard, curses flowed through her mind at how much time she had wasted. Back at the airport, she had entered the terminal only to realize that her car was over at Captain Kurt's hangar. After grabbing a shuttle to her vehicle, she left the airport, praying for the local police to be taking a coffee break as she sped through the streets to her home. That had been a good forty-five minutes ago. 

Knowing that her husband had found out about her deception by now, she glanced down the street for any sign of Agency vehicles. Relieved that they hadn't shown up yet, she grabbed her purse and quickly hopped out of the car. Her hands began to shake as she searched her purse for her house keys. Images of her small boy – well, not so small anymore but still her "little boy" – alone with Weasel haunted her mind. All she could see were his innocent brown eyes full of fear and his body covered in blood. Finally, finding her keys in the bottomless pit of her purse, she hastily unlocked the front door. As she raced up the stairs, she caught a glimpse of Phillip's basketball lying on the floor outside the boys' room. 

She blinked her eyes to hold back the tears that were forming and forced her mind to focus on the object she needed to retrieve as she headed for the attic stairs. Flinging the door open to the attic, she felt fear winning over her rational thinking. She needed to find the panda and get back to the airport. Her flight back to Boston was due to leave in two and half hours.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Simon drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he sat in his rental car, anxiously awaiting his prey to exit her house. "I don't know why I can't just follow her in and take what I want. Weasel just had to go and give me orders to make sure she had the damn thing in hand _before_ I could take her."

Slamming his hand against the dashboard, his mind raced with ways to go against his boss' orders and still be on his good side.

~~~~~~~~~~

Boxes crashed to the floor as Amanda frantically searched each one to no avail. Her Agency training edged farther from her mind with each box, and panic quickly filed in behind it. Eyeing her mother's junk box, the images of last year's spring cleaning came to mind. As she dug deeper into the piles of boxes, she verbalized her thoughts. "Oh, Mother. Why must you pack all of this stuff up like this? I sure hope you didn't throw it out or give it to some charity."

Sitting down amongst the boxes, she placed her head in her hands. Her son was depending on her, and she couldn't find the one thing that could save his life. A loud crash of boxes falling behind her interrupted her thoughts, and she jumped up to see the damage. 

Seeing a box at her feet labeled "Jamie's Memories,' she remembered her own box in the back of her closet. "That's right. I didn't want Mother to accidentally throw it out, so I put it in my closet." She quickly ran back down the attic stairs towards her bedroom. Within seconds, she had found the box. Removing the lid, she released the breath she'd been holding at the sight of the panda. 

Taking the panda from its protective shelter, she gently placed it on the floor beside her. The box was filled with other treasures that usually brought back special memories, but her mind filled with only one this time. Her memory went back to the time when she had first laid eyes on the panda before her. Placing the lid back on the container, she put it back in her closet and closed the door. Taking the priceless item in her hands once again, she sat on the bed to examine it.

She had received this treasure in a special-delivery package the day before news reached them that her father's chopper had gone down. Holding the panda up to the light on her nightstand, she saw a small clear stopper hidden on the bottom. "I wonder why I never noticed that before." Pulling the stopper out, she looked inside and saw the tiny roll of microfilm. 

Carefully pulling the film out of the panda, her eyes darted around the room for something to place the film in. Remembering the jewelry bag in her dresser drawer, she rose from the bed and retrieved it. After securing the film in the black bag, she tucked the bag inside her bra, keeping it safely between her breasts.

She placed the stopper back in the bottom of the panda and placed it on the top shelf of her closet. Giving it one last glance, her eyes focused on the clock by her bed, and she realized she was wasting valuable time. Leaving her room, she raced downstairs, grabbed her purse, and headed back outside. Locking the door behind her, she rushed back to the Wagoneer and was soon backing out of the driveway.

So intent on getting on her way, she didn't notice the maroon Pontiac perform a U-turn and follow her around the bend and away from Maplewood Avenue. Nor did she notice the two unmarked Agency cars pass her, going in the direction of her house.

"Damn it! She's heading in the opposite direction!" Billy Melrose exclaimed to the Agent in the passenger seat. He slammed on his breaks, made a quick U-turn and stopped alongside the second Agency vehicle. Rolling down his window, he waited for Francine to roll down hers. "Francine, Amanda just took off in the other direction."

Francine nodded. "I know! I saw her car." 

  
"I want you to head over to her house, see if you can come up with any clues as to what she might have found, then leave a man or two to watch over the house just in case anyone should come snooping around," Billy ordered. "I'm heading back out towards Dulles Airport, my guess is she's on her way back there."

"Okay," Francine responded. She began to roll up her window and then stopped. "Billy, what do I do if Scarecrow calls?" 

Billy took a deep breath. "Tell him she hasn't shown up there yet or that we haven't seen her. I'll call him from the airport when I have some real news to report." He rolled up his window and sped off in the direction Amanda's car had just gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~

As Amanda turned onto the Dulles Access road, she suddenly noticed the Pontiac close on her tail. "Shoot! I should've been paying closer attention. I know I saw that car parked across the street from my house." She quickly stepped on the gas and shot into the high-speed lane. She then weaved her car between a few more cars. 

Glancing in her rearview mirror, she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized the car was no longer behind her. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid. This whole thing has me a bit jumpy."

She kept up her speed and headed for the overnight parking areas, all the while continuing to check her mirror for any signs of the Pontiac. 

After being spotted, Simon kept a safe distance behind Mrs. King's car. "No use spooking her now and loosing her. Then Weasel would really have my head, or rather, he'd send me back to the damn hospital." He watched as she pulled her Wagoneer into one of the overnight lots. Following the vehicle into the parking area, he parked his car far away from her line of sight. Watching as she locked her car and headed for the shuttle bus, he hastily got out of the Pontiac and followed. Climbing aboard the bus, he sat not far from her, ready to get off at the same terminal she did.

Simon picked up a local newspaper that another passenger had left behind and watched Amanda intently through the corner of his eye. Seeing that she had no other possession in her hand besides her purse, he wondered if she did indeed have the item his boss had requested. Simon's eyes narrowed and a wide grin crossed his features as he thought over what he could do to her luscious body. 'If she didn't find the item, I'm gonna have a lot of fun with her before I dispose of her. I know Weasel won't mind,' 

Amanda could feel eyes watching her, and she looked around at the passengers of the small bus. As she scanned the bus, she noticed that they all seem to be engrossed in their own thoughts. One man, not far from her, seemed to have an eerie grin on his face as he glanced her way momentarily and then focused back to his paper. A chill ran up her spine as her eyes locked with his for a split second, and she pulled her coat closed around her. 

As the bus reached the Delta terminal, she stood and prepared to disembark. She noticed that half the people on the bus did the same, including the man with the sinister grin. When the bus finally came to a stop, she quickly got off and headed inside the terminal. 

Walking over to the monitors, she pulled out her return ticket and located which gate her flight was leaving from. She then turned her attention away from the monitors and evaluated her surroundings for anyone suspicious. Several of her fellow bus passengers had also stopped at the monitors, but she noticed that the disturbing man from the bus seemed to be heading towards one of the men's rooms. Breathing another sigh of relief, she began walking towards the escalator that would lead her to the right gate. 

Simon watched as Mrs. King headed down the escalator and quickly followed her. Noticing that there were a few areas where he could easily pull her aside; he patiently waited for the crowd to thin out. 'Less eyes to see me take the King woman,' he mused. 

The muscles in Billy Melrose's neck and shoulders ached with tension as his car pulled up outside the Delta Terminal. Thankfully, he had already had one of his Agents call the airlines to find out which return flight Amanda would be on. Pulling out his federal badge, he exited the car and went straight over to speak to one of the terminal guards. 

"I'm leaving my car here, I need full co-operations from the airport security!" Turning to the agents behind him, he motioned for them to enter. "Duncan, you and two others go on in and start checking the terminal gates."

The guard studied the identification briefly and handed it back to Billy. "What can we do to help, Agent Melrose?"

Motioning for Agent Johnson to bring him his file, Billy pulled Amanda's photo out and showed it to the guard. "We're looking for this woman. She's scheduled to board the next flight out for Boston. I need her stopped and brought to me, unharmed." 

Billy watched the excitement cross the eager guard's features. Clearing his throat, he narrowed his eyes at the man. "She's one of ours, and I don't expect her to be arrested. I just need to fill her in on a very important situation."

The guard grabbed his radio and started making contact with fellow officers. Billy nodded to the group of agents that had remained outside. "Come on, let's go find her!"

Glancing at her watch, Amanda realized that she was an hour early for her flight. She began to slow her rapid pace to catch her breath. 'No need to rush when I'm this close to the gate.'

Seeing a water fountain over on the wall, her mouth screamed for a little taste. She looked around again to see if she was being followed, or if any Agency members had caught up to her. Realizing she was still ahead of the game, she relaxed and walked over to the water fountain. 

Simon watched her stiff body relax as she sipped the cool water. Taking one last look around the now-empty foyer, he carefully walked behind her and placed his hand around her waist. "Don't scream or I'll blow you into a million pieces."

Amanda felt the hard muzzle of the gun pressing into her side and nodded her understanding.

Simon gently stroked her soft brown hair from her neck and leaned down close to her ear. "Nice and easy, Mrs. King. Weasel has sent me to make sure that you've obtained the item and to take you safely back to him." 

Amanda's stomach immediately began to churn as the smell of his stale beer breath reached her nostrils. 

Simon could feel her small body tremble under his wide hands and let his mouth linger near her skin a moment longer to inhale her sweet smell. 

Amanda cursed herself for being so carelessness. She should have known that Weasel wouldn't have let her waltz on back to Boston, alone and un-escorted.

Simon pulled her body close to him as he positioned her to face the lower exit doors. An evil chuckle filled her ears as he began to give her instructions. "Now, Mrs. King, we're gonna slowly back up to the doors leading outside. Don't make a move, because if you do, I _will_ be forced to kill you. Then I'd have to report that to Weasel and seeing as how he has your son, I'm sure he'd take his anger out on your poor son." 

Amanda did as she was asked and began to walk in the direction he was indicating. They were just reaching the doors when they both heard the hammering of feet rushing down the escalator. Amanda turned her head to see the familiar face of her boss and started to struggle with Simon. "Help!"

Simon tightened his grasp and continued to drag Amanda out the back doors and over to a vacant airport cart. "I'm sorry I have to do this, Mrs. King, but I can't have you running off on me." He quickly raised the gun and brought it down on Amanda's head, knocking her unconscious.

  
Throwing her into the passenger side of the cart, he put the vehicle in gear and headed towards the private hangars.

Billy had just reached the bottom of the escalator when he heard Amanda's pleas for help. Seeing her being dragged from the building, he shouted for his men to follow. "This way, boys!" 

Guns pulled, they reached the outside just in time to see Amanda slumped over and the cart on its way to its destination. Agents began to take aim at the fleeing cart, only to be stopped by the booming voice of their Section Chief. "Hold your fire. You might hit Mrs. King!"

Billy's eyes narrowed as he watched the cart race farther from sight. "Damn it! All right, Johnson, take Mitchell and take that other cart and follow them, I want to know which hangar they go to. Rogers, follow me. We're gonna have to take the car around and try to stop them that way." Billy turned around and headed back inside.

Simon saw the other cart take off in pursuit and fired two shots behind him. He successfully blew out one of the tires, causing the agents to spin and screech to a stop.

Smiling, he floored the gas pedal, causing the cart to leap forward even faster.

Mitchell fired two shots in the direction of the cart but missed. Looking at Johnson, who was trying to keep the cart from going totally out of control, he cursed. "Damn! Melrose isn't gonna be happy."

Within minutes, Simon had rounded one hangar and turned into a second hangar. Parking the cart just inside the door, he hopped out and ran over to the other side to remove Mrs. King. "Stemple! Get this plane started! We don't have time to waste!" He called into the building as he threw Amanda over his shoulder.

A tall dark-haired man peaked his head out of the large low-wing craft's door. "Is that the woman Weasel wanted unharmed?" 

  
"Yes, and she _is_ unharmed, she's just knocked out. Now get this damn plane started." He adjusted Amanda's body and stepped up onto the wing.

Billy was racing his car through the hangar buildings. He spotted his two agents, away from their vehicle and wandering around. He pulled his car to a stop and literally jumped out. "Johnson! Mitchell! What the hell happened? Where'd the cart with Mrs. King go?" he shouted.

Mitchell raised his hands in exasperation. Johnson shook his head. "The guy had a gun and blew out our tire. We started to pursue them on foot, but the cart was out of our sight before we could catch up to them."

"Great! Just great!" Billy huffed. Just then, they heard an aircraft roar to life somewhere nearby, and then saw the recognizable V-tail of a Beechcraft Bonanza taxiing rapidly away from them. "Damn it! We're too late. All we can do now is sit and wait for Scarecrow to contact us." He stared at the retreating aircraft until it was out of sight and then turned back toward his car. "I'm not looking forward to this."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee taxied the Mooney towards Captain Kurt's hangar. Unlocking his seatbelt before the plane came to a complete stop, he turned his angered expression to Richard. "I can't believe we haven't been able to get in touch with Billy. God, I just hope Amanda's all right. As soon as I know she is, I'm gonna wring her neck! What was she thinking taking off on her own like that? How damn irresponsible could she be!?!" 

Gripping the edges of his seat, Richard refused to look at the crazed man beside him. He'd been in a few small planes before, but Scarecrow's erratic behavior and edginess didn't make for a smooth landing. He opened his mouth to comment that Scarecrow shouldn't be talking about irresponsibility after the flight they'd just had, but thought better of it. Taking a deep breath and unfastening his seatbelt instead, he began to concentrate on gathering his things and preparing to exit the plane. The last thing he wanted was to make eye contact with his pilot until his feet were once again on solid ground. 

Not wanting to put any more doubt into the young man's mind, he tried to reassure him. "I sure she's fine, Scarecrow. Billy said they were heading over to her house when we last spoke to him. He probably has her with him as we speak." 

Lee started to pop the door open then turned to his co-pilot. "I hope you're right, Fire." 

Exiting the plane, Lee began to bellow orders to the driver of the fuel truck to get the Mooney refueled and ready for takeoff as quickly as possible. Richard joined Lee outside the plane and watched as the mechanic mutely nodded his acceptance of Lee's orders. After receiving a confirmation that the plane would be ready to head back out within the next half-hour, Lee headed off the flight line and towards his car.

Richard followed the agitated man out of the hanger. "Hey, wait up! Scarecrow, where are you going?" 

"I'm going to my car. I left it here Friday when we headed out. I'm calling Billy to get an update." As soon as he reached his 'Vette, Lee pulled out his car keys. Unlocking the door, he reached in and grabbed his phone. 

Dialing, he punched in the numbers for the Agency. "I need to speak with Billy Melrose! This is Scarecrow." 

"Yes, sir! He's been expecting your call. I'll patch you right through," the operator replied through the phone.

Lee drummed his fingers on the hood of his car as he waited for Billy to come on the line.

"Melrose, here. Scarecrow?" 

"Yeah, Billy. We just landed. I'm at Captain Kurt's hangar. Did Amanda find the panda?" 

Billy's face took on a pained expression as he prepared to ask his own question. He wasn't looking forward to telling Lee that Amanda's abductor had eluded them and was now airborne. "Scarecrow, how soon before you can get back in the air?" 

A concerned frown appeared on Lee's forehead as he slowly replied, "As soon as it's fueled. He cocked his head. "Billy, what's wrong? Where's Amanda?"

Billy leaned his head back against his seat as he gripped the car phone tightly in his right hand. "We got to her house just as she was leaving. We followed her to the airport, but we didn't make it in time. Some guy grabbed her on the way to her flight gate and they literally just took off in a Bonanza."

Lee turned dark, angry eyes to Richard who was intently listening to the conversation. "Damn! Was it Weasel?"

"No. I've never seen this man before. He was at least seven feet tall and kind of heavy set… I'd say around two hundred and fifty pounds. He had dark hair and almost totally black eyes. I didn't get a very close look at him, though."

Lee closed his eyes to the image Billy described. Taking a deep breath, he looked again at Richard. "Simon."

Billy straightened in his seat. "Who?"

"Get on the horn and have the Boston airport on the ready. Give them her description. Damn it! I'm going back up in the air. Now!" Lee slammed his fist against his car.

Billy shook his head. "Scarecrow, how are you going to do that if you're plane's not ready? I don't need both of you in trouble!" 

"My plane's fine. Just call Boston. We don't have time to waste. I'll contact you once we land again." 

"Lee, wait! See if the hangar has a hand-held radio so that we can keep in contact somehow." Billy ordered into the phone. "Where's Kurt's hangar, we'll meet you there."

"I'll ask about a radio, but we may not be here when you arrive. Kurt's hangar's on the far south side, hangar number 33. Call Boston. We'll try and keep in touch somehow." Not waiting for a response, Lee reached back into his car and slammed the phone back onto its handset. This time, when he looked at Richard, his gaze was tinged with fear.

Richard understood the fear that Lee harbored. Simon was a dangerous man. "We'll find her Lee."

Shutting his car door, Lee started back towards the Mooney. "Come on, we're heading back up. Simon just took off a few minutes ago."

Richard stepped in his path. "Lee, you need to think clearly. We have to wait until the plane is refueled before we can go chasing after them."

Lee glanced back at the flight line. "Tanks should be topped off by now." When the other man remained standing in his path, his eyes narrowed. "Fire, I've seen what this man can do. I know what's in store for my wife! I have to go up now!"

Richard placed his hand on Lee's shoulder. "I think I can arrange for a plane. Being a Secret Service agent does have its advantages." He started back towards the Corvette but stopped at Lee's next words. 

"No time!" Lee shouted as he started for the flight line at all but a jog. "They haven't been off the ground that long, and they're not expecting us. If we push it, I think we can catch them."

Richard closed his eyes and made a face, then pivoted to follow. He wasn't looking forward to taking another flight with Scarecrow, but he didn't like the idea of Simon having time alone with Amanda, either. 

Chapter 12

Lee's eyes burned as he strained to see through the mounting clouds in the sky. "Where in the hell is Billy? We've been up in the air for over twenty minutes and still no word from him on Simon's coordinates."

Richard sympathetically shrugged his shoulders before adjusting his headset over his ears. "I'm sure he'll radio us as soon as he knows something." Tilting his head slightly, he made eye contact with pilot to make sure that he was still in control of his actions. Satisfied with what he saw, he continued, "Just keep this baby on auto-pilot with the coordinates set for Boston until we hear something."

Lee brushed his sweaty palms over the material of his jeans as he continued to search the clouds. "It's just that every second counts, Fire."

Fire nodded his agreement and turned his attention to the quickly-fading sun on the horizon. Both men remained quiet until both headsets crackled with a call. 

"One-Two-Niner-Zero Yankee, Dulles International."

Lee's head jerked slightly, and he immediately keyed the microphone. "Niner-Zero Yankee."

"Niner-Zero Yankee, I have William Melrose to patch through to you."  
  
"Go ahead, Dulles."

"Scarecrow," Billy's voice came through both men's headsets, "I have confirmation on their location." He proceeded to give Lee the latest radar contact coordinates.

Lee immediately began working on calculations so he could put the plane on an intercept course. "Thanks, Billy. I've got their coordinates locked in now. Let me know if they change course at all."

"Of course, Scarecrow. When you get closer, I'll help you close in. I'll be here monitoring your radio transmissions until you're on the ground."

Lee nodded, making final adjustments to his instruments. "As soon as I've got sight of the aircraft, I'm going to try and talk them down."

"Lee..."

"I will, Billy." Lee thumbed the transmission switch off as he took the plane off auto-pilot and headed in the direction of Simon's plane.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dotty continually walked back and forth in front of the crackling fire in the cozy living room. Looking up occasionally at all the equipment and government agents that littered the room, she thought of how her family was, once again, in a situation where they were under the watchful eye of the government. Releasing a loud sigh, she stopped before the fireplace and watched the pieces of ember wood fall to the base, a little at a time. 

Amanda had left her, again, with no warning, no reason, not even a goodbye. So similar to the events of the year earlier where she had run off with Lee Stetson. The only difference this time was that Lee had run off after Amanda, rather than with her. She never had gotten a straight answer from her daughter about that situation and what had possessed her to run off like that, leaving her family behind to worry about her. 

Her thoughts turned to Jamie, who was putting up a brave front, but she knew that he had to be an emotional wreck on the inside. Now, he not only had a brother missing, but his mother had decided to run off and do something about it. 

Dotty wrapped her arms around herself as a small smile formed on her lips. Fortunately, the nice woman who ran the place, Lorna, had instinctively known that Jamie needed something to do and had invited him to help her out in the kitchen. She had smiled her thanks to the kind woman, knowing that Lorna was trying to help Jamie take his mind off of the situation at hand. Turning around to face the living room, she noted again, the agents guarding the front door and sitting by the phones. 

Releasing a large, angry sigh, she turned her eyes on her husband. 'Frank is just sitting there… talking with one of the agents… going over some "plans" to save the world, no doubt.' 

Frank felt the dagger stare of his wife's eyes on him. His observation of her earlier pacing had reminded him just a little of Lee Stetson when he was agitated. He wondered if Dotty had picked that little habit up from his son-in-law, or if it had managed to manifest on its own. He couldn't help but let a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth at how much she had changed over the years. 

The last thin string of Dotty's controlled frustration broke at the sight of amusement on Frank's face. "Do you think this is funny, Frank West?!!" Pointing an accusing finger as she walked towards him, her voice at a full yell. "Well let me tell you something. This is the second time I've been forced into a situation where the government has gotten involved and taken over our lives. This is the second time in almost a year that your daughter has run off on some…some whim of impulse, totally disregarding the rest of her family. Not to mention causing poor Lee to tear out of here like a tornado just to go find her. I'm not sure what the hell Lee thinks he can do…he's no Superman." 

Frank sat as far back in his wheelchair as he could while his wife flung her anger at him. "Dotty, you getting upset isn't going to solve anything…"

"Oh don't try and calm me down. You're mixed up in all of this. It's your fault that our daughter has run off to God knows where for God knows what reason. It's all _your_ fault that my grandson has been kidnapped by some lunatic out for revenge against you! A fact that I would love to know more about." Dotty's anger caused her body to begin to tremble and her knees became weak. Placing her right palm on her forehead, she turned towards the couch and decided perhaps she should sit down.

Frank watched her exhausted body collapse on the couch. Deciding to try to offer her some comfort with the current situation, he rolled his chair over beside her at the couch. "Dotty, I wish I could give you answers, but I can't. I'm not sure why Amanda ran off, exactly…"

Dotty continued to rub her temples as she heard his wheel chair approach. At the sound of his voice she raised her head and turned her ice-cold eyes towards him. "What the hell does that mean? Do _you_ mean you _know_ where she headed off to and, for that matter, you may _know_ why she left?" Her voice was calmer, but it now held an even tone, hinging on the edge of a challenge.

Frank forced himself to look into her piercing blue eyes as he fought his own inward battle on just how much he should divulge to her, if anything at all. Seeing the same fear in her eyes that he had seen the day he'd left them for 'Nam, he realized she had a right to some of the answers. Placing his right hand on her knee, he opened his mouth to begin his meager explanation when Kurt appeared in the doorway.

Kurt's thoughts tormented him as he lingered in the doorway, watching the love of his life with another man. 'Here I stand, feeling like an idiot while she sits there in an emotional hell taking comfort from another man. Hell! Who am I kidding? That's her husband! What do I do now? Do I back off and let them have some private time? Do I go over and show this man that she's mine and I'm going to fight for her?' Kurt started to turn and leave until something in him told him not to let his one chance at happiness slip through his fingers without a fight. 'No. I'm not going to stand by and let her go without a fight!'

Kurt straightened his shoulders and took a deep breath. As he stepped into the living room, he chose his words carefully. "Dotty, are you all right? You look a bit flustered." 

Dotty's features softened at the sound of the man who now held her heart. Turning to look at him, she answered, "Oh, Kurt. Yes, I'm fine. I'm just trying to get some answers." She turned her attention back to the man in the wheelchair as she patted the seat next to her inviting Kurt to sit beside her.

Frank had noticed Dotty's features relax at the sight of the tall man entering the room. Keeping his outward appearance as casual as possible, he thought of the current situation with his wife. 'My immediate concern is Phillip's safety, as well as that of my impulsive daughter, and now added to this growing list, is my his hot-headed son-in-law.' He gently removed his hand from Dotty's knee as Kurt sat down beside her. 

Turning his eyes to the burning fire in the fireplace, he continued his own thoughts. 'When this is all over and everyone is back together, safe and sound, I'm going to have to figure out what to do about my Dotty. No matter what the final outcome of our relationship is, it's not going to be an easy one on any of us.' Dotty's demanding voice brought Frank out of his thoughts and back to the present argument. 

Dotty had cleared her throat for the second time to get Frank's attention before deciding to raise her voice and demand answers. "Frank, now I expect some answers. Where did Amanda go, and why did Lee feel the need to run off after her?" 

Frank slowly nodded his understanding as he wheeled his chair backwards a few inches away from the couple. "I'll tell you what I can, but when I'm done, you have to promise me that you won't ask me any more questions." Pausing to look into her eyes for the confirmation he needed of his request, he was taken back by the look of defiance in her eyes. His Dotty had indeed changed quite a bit over the years.

Sighing, Dotty resigned herself to the idea of not having the whole truth. She didn't like it, but at least it would be something. She listened as her grandson yelled to Lorna that the cookies were done and they needed to be taken from the oven. This phrase had been uttered so many times in the safety of her home in Arlington over the years. Thinking back to those times and how many had been interrupted by Amanda rushing off to some place or taking mysterious phone calls, drove home the fact that some of her family members had been keeping her slightly in the dark about a lot of things. Reluctantly, she nodded her acceptance of Frank's terms.

Frank placed his hands on the armrest of his wheelchair and began to roll back and forth in front of the couple. "This all stems from some information I was in charge of back during the war. It appears that some documents, which the government thought had been destroyed when my chopper went down, were actually never directly given to me. Unbeknownst to me, a portion of the information was put into an item that I sent to Amanda before I left for that mission." 

Frank stopped before her to look into her eyes. He wanted her to know that he was being completely honest. Seeing her nod, he continued his pacing as he spoke. "Apparently, Amanda overheard me telling some of the agents about it, and she got the brilliant idea to run off on her own to retrieve the item and bring it back here." 

Dotty momentarily mulled over Frank's words then fired more questions at him. "Okay, but can you tell me how, and why, Lee decided to leave us behind and go running off after her. Why didn't he leave that to the professionals here?" 

Frank didn't know how to respond to that truthfully without giving away the secret behind Lee and Amanda's real jobs. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided a little white lie couldn't hurt. "I'm not entirely sure. I guess love does funny things to people. I bet Lee believed Amanda's life might be in danger, and if I know Lee like I think I do, he's not the type who can sit idly by and just wait. He'll be fine. I'm sure of it. After all, he did take one of the Secret Service agents with him." He realized, as the words came to him, that not all of what he said was a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth.

Dotty wasn't totally satisfied with that answer. "Well, why didn't any of the other agents stop him? I'm sure they all feel that it would be safer for him to be under twenty-four hour guard, just like the rest of us," she huffed with an edge of frustration in her voice. She didn't like the idea of being confined inside and under supervision. It made her feel like a common criminal, when the real criminal was out there, somewhere, with her grandson.

Frank moved back towards the couch and started to reach out to put a comforting hand on Dotty's leg, but paused when he saw Kurt wrap his arm around her shoulder. He watched, disheartened, as she laid her head on the other man's shoulder, and sighed.

"I know this isn't easy on any of us," Kurt began in a soothing tone, "but we just have to leave the situation in the hands of the authorities. Why don't you and I go on upstairs and go over some new flight simulations I'd like to teach you when we get back to Virginia."

Dotty realized there was no use in sitting here brooding. Jamie was keeping busy helping Lorna, and she knew Frank would be better use to the agents if she wasn't around to throw accusations at him. She slowly rose off the couch. Looking directly at Frank, she said, "I know you haven't told me everything, Frank, as you said you weren't going to. I _am_ going to say this, though…you do what you can to help these agents get my grandson back and to find the rest of our straggling family. I'm entrusting their well being to you." She turned and headed out of the room and towards the stairs, with Kurt close behind.

Frank lowered his head. He knew that the Dotty he loved would always be just a memory. She had definitely moved on. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned towards the two agents across the room. At the sharp, sudden ringing of the telephone, Agent Dobson picked up the phone and nodded as he listened to the voice on the other end. He quickly removed the receiver from his ear and held it out to Frank. "It's Billy Melrose. He says there's been an urgent development."

Frank quickly wheeled his chair over to the phone and put it to his ear. "Frank West here. What's wrong, Melrose?" His mouth dropped as he listened to the man on the other end. "Oh, God! Have you heard anything more? Okay, I'll see what we can do on this end. Please keep us posted on any new developments." Handing the phone back to Dobson to return it to its base, he spun his chair around. "Which one of you agents can fly a plane?" he practically shouted. He needed to get out there and help his family the best way he knew how and that was from the air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phillip's eyes were wide with fright as the dark figure circled his body as a wolf would its prey. Low whispers of promises for his safety could be heard in the dark room if only his mother would return with the precious list. Phillip's eyes filled with tears which began to cascade down his pale features one at a time. 

Amanda reached out to her son, to hold him, to protect him, to shut out all the evil in the world, but she couldn't. Her ears filled with the wicked sound of an insane man's laugh. She couldn't find her voice, and she so desperately wanted to call out to her son and reassure him that she would soon be there. She stretched her arm and fingers as far as she could until her muscles screamed for her to pull back. Then all was silent, and he was there no more. The silence became too much for her too bare as she blinked back the darkness and searched for him once more. Nothing was there, only blackness for what seemed like hours as she searched. 

An unholy bright light filled her eyes as she watched her son being roughly dragged to the floor. Redness filled her eyes as she watched the blood spill from his body onto the white tile floor, but all was still silent. No words, no sounds, just crimson red filling her eyes. "NO!"

Simon hovered over his current captive, as she twisted against her confinements to be free. He listened as she called for her son, Phillip. He watched as her face cringed in fear from whatever dream she was having. Brushing her hair from her angelic face, he leaned closer to her ear. "Shhh…It's only a dream, my dear."

Amanda could hear the voice calling to her from a distance outside her body. The visions of her son were gone, and she could feel her brain pounding against her skull. Slowly, her eyes began to open, and she looked to see to whom the calming voice belonged. Seeing the man from the airport, her mind quickly reminded her of the situation she was now in.

Simon's face brightened as he saw her eyes open. "I see you've decided to join us."

Amanda tried to sit upright in her chair to see her surroundings more clearly. But to her dismay, she soon found out that ropes confined her hands and feet. "Who are you?"

Simon traced the outlines of her face his index finger before sitting down in the seat beside her. "My name is Simon, Mrs. King. I am personally escorting you to meet Weasel."

Simon paused as he watched acknowledgement and fear creep into her features. Fear excited him more than any other emotion. Leaning forward, he raked her body with his eyes as he continued. "I see you recognize my boss' name. Good. Now, this can be easy on you…perhaps even pleasant." He placed his hand on her shaking knee as he worked his way up her leg. "Or it can be very unpleasant. Either way, I want the list you went to Arlington to retrieve."

Amanda bit on her lower lip as she studied the man before her. His eyes danced dangerously with laughter and hatred. His body movements showed he had more of an interest in her than just the list. Amanda tried to contain the fear she felt before she spoke; however, her words came out crackling. "I couldn't find the list…my mother must have thrown the Panda away…or given it away to a charity."

Simon shook his head as he looked into her eyes. "I think not. You wouldn't have come all this way without knowing exactly where it was. You must remember we have your little boy, and it won't take much to make Weasel mad."

Amanda regained control of her emotions at the mention of her son. Thoughts for her own well-being floated out the window to join the dark clouds that encircled the plane. Her eyes became stern as she jerked her leg from under his hand. "I'll give it to _him_ when I have my son."

Simon threw back his head and released a loud laugh at her attempt to balk at his request. Then he became silent as he rose from his seat and squatted beside her, gripping her inner thigh with his left hand and his right on her cheek. "I guess I'll just have to search you myself."

Amanda continued to hold his intense gaze of her own as she tried to remove her leg from his grasp. "I want my son!"

Simon continued to move his hand up her leg until he reached her waist. Massaging the soft skin beneath her clothes, he moved his mouth to her neck. Amanda closed her eyes as she felt his hot breath on her skin. She knew if he continued with his intentions, it wouldn't be long before he found where she had hidden the treasure he sought.

"Hey, Simon! We've got a big problem at three o'clock!" the pilot yelled back into the cabin.

Simon jerked his head back at the sound of the pilot's voice. "I'm a little busy. Do you think you could handle it!?!"

"Get your horny ass up here! We've got a tail, and he's moving in fast."

Simon groaned as he rose from his position. "I'll be back, missy."

Amanda slumped in her seat in relief. 'Could it be Lee?'

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee's mind filled with horrid images of all the possibilities Amanda could be facing at that moment. He had seen the abuse that Simon Olson could induce on his victims first hand, and he wasn't referring to the victims from Simon's escapades with Weasel in Vietnam. The last image of Simon's violent actions still haunted his dreams. His eyes glazed over as the vision of that day played out before his eyes. 

__

Almost at closing time on a Wednesday evening, Lee entered his local bank to retrieve cash for his long weekend off and his adventure with his latest fancy. The bank had been completely empty except for one male clerk whose eyes told all. Pulling his gun, he placed his index finger over his lips to warn the clerk to remain quiet. Scanning the area, he immediately saw a blood trail leading behind the counter. 

__

He glanced back at the clerk to see that the man's eyes were closed and his lips sealed together as if he was holding his breath. Pulling his sports coat off and dropping it to the floor, he eased his way around the counter. The first criminal had been easy to apprehend. He had been concentrating on the clerk before him, and Lee was able to knock him out _with a single blow to the head. The clerk had dropped to his knees in relief of Lee's rescue. _

__

The clerk pointed to the hall to Lee's left and mouthed the words 'another man.' Lee pointed to the phone for the clerk to dial 911. Seeing the clerk dialing the numbers, Lee edged his way around the wall that separated the tellers and the back office. 

__

Lee caught his breath at the site of the mangled bodies before him. Men, women, and children lay in pools of their own blood. Concentrating on his training, he continued his way through the hall to his left. A cold sweat broke out over his body as he heard the muffled cries of a woman from behind closed doors. Steadying himself, he kicked the door in with all his strength. 

What he had found behind that closed door, he had pushed from his memory the moment the trial had ended. He had testified about the sights he'd seen, at Simon's trial, and that had helped to put the maniac away, for what he thought was forever. It was just last month that Lee had received notice that Simon had been released from the mental ward, a free man. The doctors had said his mental aberrations would remain under control, and he would no longer be a threat to society, as long as he took his medication and continued to show up for his required psychiatric evaluation visits. "More like the damn government got tired of paying for his upkeep!"

Richard turned his eyes from the quickly-passing clouds to Lee at his sudden outburst. "What are you talking about, Scarecrow?"

Lee's right knuckles had turned white as he'd balled his fist during his thoughts. "We've got to catch up to that plane, Fire! Simon Olsen's a certifiable madman. He should never have been released."

Richard knew exactly where Lee's thoughts lay. He'd read over Lee Stetson's entire file five years ago when he had taken on the responsibility of keeping watch over Nighthawk's family. Glancing out the window, he wished he could point the other craft out to Lee, but no aircraft, large or small, appeared to be anywhere in sight."Lee, we will catch up to them and get her back, before anything happens."

Lee eyes remained on the sky before him searching for any evidence of the plane carrying his wife. "For all of our sakes, I hope so!" Motioning to Richard's headset, he ordered, "Get on the damn horn and see if you can get the tower to contact Simon's plane. I know Billy said we were closing in on them, but there's nothing out here but dark clouds, it's like hunting for a needle in a haystack!"

Richard re-settled his headset, thumbed the transmit button, and began to summon the tower. 

While Richard continued his efforts to reach the tower, Lee's body tensed as he saw the

object of his obsession before him. "There they are, Fire! I need a direct link to their plane NOW. If my calculations are correct, we're somewhere over White Plains, New York. There's a tiny airport nearby, and I want to try to talk that son-of-a-bitch into landing."

Richard's eyes narrowed at the image of the plane before them playing hide-and-seek from him through the quickly darkening clouds. "They've already spotted you, Lee. Take us up above them before they figure out that you're tailing them."

Lee turned hate-filled eyes towards Richard. "Damn it, Fire. It's getting dark, and in case you haven't noticed, we're flying right into a storm front. I won't be able to maneuver this bucket of tin well enough to make him land. Besides, he'll never land that fucking plane without a direct threat."

Richard could tell from Lee's eyes that there was no point in trying to reason with him. He continued his efforts on the radio with what appeared to be a greenhorn. "Listen, you arrogant little bastard. This is an Alpha-green priority. I have direct clearance from the President himself for you to do whatever the hell I tell you to do. Order that plane to land at the nearest airport or give me the frequency they're using!"

Lee maneuvered his plane to be directly behind Simon's as Richard nodded, as though to the person on the other end of the radio. "Scarecrow," he said, turning to the man next to him, "the tower reports this line of storms to be building to severe levels. If we continue on this heading, we'll fly right into a dangerous situation."

Lee's face remained hardened as he remained focused on the other plane. Richard shook his head as he watched the determined agent next to him and reached forward to adjust the radio. "It's a go, Scarecrow. Anytime you're ready. I've switched to their frequency."

Lee grit his teeth as he thumbed his own transmit button. "Simon, this is Scarecrow. I'll give you three minutes to set course for the Westchester County Airport."

Simon grasped his hand-held microphone tightly at the sound of Lee's voice. "I see you have left the safety of your garden and decided to take flight with your bird friends."

Richard watched the muscles in Lee's jaws tense as he heard the slurred voice of Simon Olson. 

"Reset your coordinates, or I'll be forced to _make_ you land!" Lee shouted into the radio.

A horrid laugh filled the airwaves. "I don't think you'll do any such thing, considering I have your lovely wife with me. You know she is quite beautiful. I imagine she is quite a tidbit to have in the sack, eh, Scarecrow."

"You touch her, and I swear you will die a slow and painful death, Simon. Land that damn plane, or I _will_ make you land it."

Amanda squirmed as she tried to loosen her bonds. The sound of Lee's voice inside the plane's cabin, knowing that he was there, made her realize she still had a fighting chance to survive. Noticing a broken beer bottle at her feet, she slid from her sitting position to the floor to retrieve it. She glanced towards the front of the plane to verify that Simon was engrossed in his heated discussion with Lee and ignoring her. Positioning herself directly over the broken shards of glass, she picked up a piece and began cutting her ropes. 

Simon placed his large hand over the narrow right shoulder of the pilot, giving it a hard squeeze. "Hmm…Scarecrow, why don't you show us if you are indeed a man, and not just some old feed sacks stuffed full of hay, and prove that you have what it takes to make us land!"

Lee growled into his headset and shoved the controls so the Mooney made an abrupt dive toward the Bonanza. 

Richard grasped the seat beneath him so hard he could feel the blood circulation being cut off from his fingertips. "Scarecrow, you're going to get us all killed. I told the tower to send us up some air support to escort him down."

Lee ignored Richard's pleas as he began a game of cat and mouse with his opponent. 

The Beechcraft's pilot anticipated Lee's first few attempts of throwing them off course and managed to maintain control of his plane. 

Simon brought the microphone close to his lips and laughed. "Scarecrow, if that's the best you can do, you need to stay in your garden and leave the flying to the birds."

Lee's anger outweighed his rational thought as he made another risky pass at the plane. A sudden increase in power shifted Lee's plane slightly over and above Simon's. Lee's eyes grew wide as he tried to control his aircraft. "Shit! It's a wind shear. I'm going to have to firewall this bitch!"

Richard's eyes immediately fell on the plane below as Lee pushed his plane into full throttle in order to pitch up in altitude. 

"I'm not going to make it up in time! We're gonna hit!"

The sudden burst of wind forced Lee's plane towards Simon's, causing the two planes wing tips to meet. The touch was brief and light, but still managed to make the Mooney shudder and buck.

"What the hell is it, Scarecrow?" Richard's voice was full of panic as he watched Simon's plane suddenly tilt crazily, almost touching the Mooney again. After a moment of wild gyrations, it nosed down and dropped quickly away from them.

Lee continued to fight to regain control, but it was a loosing battle. "Microburst! I don't have control!"

After a harrowing moment where both men in the Mooney saw more of the ground and sky than the horizon, Lee regained a marginal amount of control over his aircraft. The brush of the Mooney's wing against Simon's aircraft had caused the Beechcraft's pilot to panic, and Lee's eyes grew wide with horror as he caught sight of it, still below them and pulling away rapidly. All color drained from his face as he watched the plane carrying his wife nose-dive toward the forest below. "Nooooooooo!" 

To be continued…


	5. Giving Thanks for What We Have - Part 5

Disclaimers: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned authors. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you would like to add it to an archive, please just let us know.

Summary: This story takes place after the series has ended. It's a "sequel" of sorts to our story _"More Than Meets the Eye."_ A man from Lee's past turns Amanda's family life upside down.

Author's Notes: We did extensive research surrounding the Vietnam War and events that took place during that time. Some scenarios mentioned really did occur; we just added the wonderful world of SMK to them. Any airplane scenes mentioned we checked with a flight expert to handle any reality issues as we wrote. A very special thank you to Tammy for beta reading and being a true part of helping us write this story.

Timeframe: Thanksgiving the year they were married.

Rating: R (some suggestive situations and language)

**__**

Giving Thanks for What We Have

By Diane & Amy (Two Phantoms)

Chapter 13

Phillip lay on the cold, damp cot shivering, not only from the lack of heat in the room, but also from the fear that continued to mount in his body. It had been, at his best guess, over two hours since anyone had come by to check on him. The last person to visit had been the man who called himself "Weasel."

Phillip closed his eyes from the memory of the man's sharp, cold eyes staring into his soul as he'd unlocked the cuffs that had bound his hands to the radiator. Weasel had said nothing to him…he didn't have to. The threats and taunts were evident in his eyes. Weasel had left the room with one last look towards him. The look held a promise of death if Phillip defied him by trying to escape. 

Phillip opened his eyes at the sound of his stomach rumbling from hunger. He tried to sit upright in the darkness of the room, only to find the pain in his arm to be too great. As he continued to lie on the cot, he rubbed his bruised arm and whispered words of desperation. "Mom…please find me. I'm so scared." 

Just then, he heard the click of the door, and the man who had abducted him entered, carrying what appeared to be a tray of food. "So, young Phillip, how are you finding your accommodations?" Weasel asked, a glimmer of evil humor shining in his eyes.

Phillip only stared back defiantly. He couldn't, however, control the shivering. He was so cold, but damned if he'd show this man any fear.

"Still trying to play the tough guy, huh? Well, I guess I owe you that pleasure. I just thought I'd let you know that my men reported back to me a few hours ago. Your mom knows how to follow directions; she should be here soon with the prize that might just free you."

A feeling of hope ran through Phillip's body. His mom was going to save him after all. He'd known she'd find him. Then the thought of his mom getting mixed up in any of this and having to deal with this strange, evil man scared him to death. "Don't you hurt my mom…or…"

"Or what?" Weasel let out an evil laugh. "You'll hurt _me_? You'll tear me in two? I sincerely doubt _that _young man. As long as your mom does exactly as she's told, and by some twist of fate, I get my hands on your grandfather, I _may_ just let your mother and you live." He laughed again as he laid the tray on the floor and headed out of the room. 

Tears welled up in Phillip's eyes. He could only hope that his mother would somehow manage to save him. He wasn't quite sure how she would do it, but she was his mother after all. Besides, he knew that Lee and his mom had connections with government types. He was sure they were already looking for him. 

Mustering as much of his strength as he could, he forced himself to slowly slide off the cot. He needed to eat in order to keep up his strength, not only for himself, but for his mom as well. Grimacing at the pain shooting through his arm, he headed over to the tray. It looked and smelled like a fast food burger and fries, so he sat on the floor and tentatively reached for a fry. Finding it cold but edible, he quickly unwrapped the burger and took a bite. 

As he ate, he mulled over the words Weasel had last spoken. What was it he had said about his "grandfather?" He didn't have any living grandfathers, at least not as far as he was aware of. What was that Weasel man talking about? 

~~~~~~~~~~

"What do you mean Frank's gone off somewhere? Where did he go?" Dotty West yelled at the agents standing guard at the main door.

"Sorry, ma'am, we're not at liberty to say," Agent Winston replied.

Anger flooded through her veins. "Don't give me that. You federal agents think you have the liberty to do whatever the hell you want. I want an answer. Where the hell did my husband go?!"

Kurt walked up behind Dotty and attempted to put his hands comfortingly on her shoulders. She quickly shrugged them off. "Don't try and get in the middle of this, Kurt. I've dealt with federal agents before." She turned an angry stare his way. "Do me a favor and please go check on Jamie," she requested in a calmer voice. 

Kurt nodded, knowing by the look in her eyes that it was best to leave her alone and not add more fuel to the fire. He gently placed a kiss on her cheek before turning and heading in the direction of the kitchen.

Dotty turned her attention back to the agents at the door. "Where is your supervisor? I demand to talk to the agent in charge and get some answers!"

Agent Wilson glanced over at Agent Morris, who was doing his best to keep his eyes averted. Agent Wilson refused to turn his eyes back on Mrs. West, and instead, moved his gaze toward the living room. There was no way he was going to be the one to spill the beans about which agent was really in charge. In fact, most of the agents in the house would prefer that Mrs. West were confined upstairs. That way, none of them would be forced to face Scarecrow's infamous wrath if they should accidentally let his true identity slip. Not only that, but they were all getting a little tired of dealing with her constant rants and raves. 

"Agent Tompkins, over by the phones, is actually the one in charge at the moment, ma'am. You can ask him all the questions you want." Morris answered. His desire to remove Mrs. West from his presence left his voice a bit terse, almost condescending.

Dotty chose to ignore the young man's tone and turned on her heels to search for Agent Tompkins. She made her way over to the two agents by the phone. "Which one of you is Agent Tompkins?" she asked, a little edge in her voice. 

A tall, thin man with sandy blond hair rose from his seat. "I'm Agent Tompkins, Mrs. West. What can I do for you?" he responded in a pleasant voice. His years of experience had taught him not to bite back when dealing with an irate person. It didn't help matters. Besides, he had just received some disturbing information that he needed to pass along, and it was going to require some hand holding, which he knew none of the other agents in the room would volunteer for.

Dotty relaxed a little when she heard the kindness in the man's voice. "I'm trying to find out what the devil has happened to my family, and no one seems willing to give me any straight answers."

Tompkins put a gentle hand her shoulder and led her over to the couch. "Have a seat, Mrs. West, and I'll tell you what you want to know." 

  
Dotty sighed in relief. Finally, someone was going to give her some idea of what was going on. "Thank you, Agent Tompkins. You have no idea how horrible this can be, everyone you love running off without a word, possibly doing more harm than good."

The blond man let out a small smile. Being pleasant had always helped him get what he wanted, and he very much wanted to keep this woman from causing his agents to do something they might later regret. Taking a seat on the chair next to the couch, he turned and faced the older woman. "Now, what is it you want to know?"

"For starters, Agent Tompkins, where is Frank West? What has become of my daughter and her fiancé, Lee Stetson?" she asked without taking a breath.

Tompkins was a little taken aback by her using the words "fiancé" and "Lee Stetson" in conjunction with each other. Could the great Scarecrow finally be tying the knot? And to his wonderful partner, Mrs. King, to boot? Now, that was indeed something to put into the record books. 

Shaking off the initial shock, he looked pointedly at Mrs. West. "Well, we still don't have confirmation about the whereabouts of your daughter or Mr. Stetson, but Nighthawk…sorry, Mr. West, has headed to the airport. We just received word that there was a possible plane crash, and he is heading up the search party."

Dotty's eyes grew wide, and her heart sank. "Was my daughter or Lee involved in the crash?"

Tompkins had been prepared for that question. He moved to sit next to her on the couch and put a comforting hand on her arm. "It's possible that your daughter was aboard one of the planes that appears to have crashed. We don't have any reports on the seriousness of the situation, yet, but believe me, we have our best men out there looking for them. We'll make sure your family is brought home safely."

Standing in the kitchen doorway, watching Jamie roll cookie dough with Lorna, Captain Kurt suddenly realized that he could no longer hear Dotty's angry voice echoing in the hallways. He quietly slipped out of the kitchen and headed back to the living room, arriving just in time to hear the agent inform Dotty about the crash. He rushed over to the couch and sat on her other side, putting his arm around her shoulders. 

Dotty eagerly accepted his strong arms around her and buried her head into his chest. "Oh, God! Please let her be okay!" Dotty cried. 

"Shh…I'm sure everything is all right," Kurt whispered. Turning his attention to the agent at the end of the couch, he asked, "Is that why Captain West disappeared? Has he gone in search of the downed plane?"

Tompkins looked back at the man. "Yes, but we haven't heard anything new since he left with two other agents. Why don't you take Mrs. West upstairs; let her get some rest. I promise to let you know the minute we hear anything."

Kurt nodded in agreement. "Come on, darling. Why don't we go lie down? Once you're rested, I'll come back downstairs and take care of Jamie, okay?"

Dotty pulled back a little and shook her head. "I'll be all right. Jamie needs to have us both around. Maybe Lorna has a game or something we can play. Something to keep our minds from thinking bad thoughts." She rose from her seat and headed towards the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Fear gripped Lee's heart as he watched the plane carrying his reason for living drop like a rock towards the wooded area below. "No! God! I can't lose her. Damn it!" he shouted out loud. "What did I do? How could I have been so careless?" He let the Mooney side-slip, not bothering to pull the nose up as he followed the other plane's descent. "Get the gear down! Use your flaps, damn it!" he yelled to the other plane.

"Stetson, get a grip! Lee!! Scarecrow!!!" Richard shouted back, trying to get the attention of the panic-stricken pilot. His right hand was wrapped in the strap above the door while his left grasped the edge of the dash.

Lee flashed a face full of worry and fear towards the agent in the co-pilot's seat.

"It won't do us any good if we crash, too. How are we gonna save her if we don't land this thing safely?" Richard tried to reason with him.

Lee knew Richard was right. Tearing his eyes away from the Bonanza, hoping with all his heart that the lowered landing gear he thought he saw on the other plane was a reality and not just wishful thinking, he took a deep breath and dragged his attention back on his own plane. "Richard, whatever you do, do _not_ loose sight of where the…" he paused, almost unable to continue, "where they…land."

Richard reached over and touched Lee's arm with his left hand. "I promise, I won't lose sight of them."

Putting an extreme amount of faith in Richard's word, Lee concentrated on regaining control over their own rapid rate of descent. The contact between the two planes' wings had been minor, but it didn't take much to upset the delicate balance between control and disaster. The sluggish response from his plane told him that something had happened to the control system; however, the fact that he had gotten some response indicated the damage wasn't too severe. And if the damage to the Mooney wasn't severe, maybe neither was the damage to the Bonanza.

With a semblance of control, Lee kept the Mooney headed in the general direction of the other craft. He searched the heavily-wooded area for a break large enough to set down in and thought he saw something resembling a parking lot out in front of them, a parking lot that just happened to be next to a large observation tower. Beside him, Richard kept his eyes glued to the plane carrying Amanda as it began to skim the tree tops at least a quarter mile ahead and slightly off to their right.

Noticing various log cabins and a few recreational vehicles scattered among the wooded area surrounding them, Lee realized they must be near one of the state or national parks in the area. "It's a good thing it's off season. I think I found a place to land," he remarked to his passenger.

Richard felt the muscles in his body begin to relax. He hadn't realized how tense he himself had been until Lee had returned to being a pilot and not a frantic husband. Nodding his understanding, he kept his eyes focused on the location of where the second plane had just disappeared into the trees. When a large puff of dust and smoke rose up through the trees, he tensed once again, as the Mooney veered suddenly.

"God, Richard! What was that?" Lee asked, while trying to steady both his nerves and the small plane. The ground was beginning to rush beneath them as they neared the lot, and Lee was having second thoughts about the chosen landing spot.

Richard gathered his courage and tried his best to reassure his pilot that there was still some hope. "That's where the plane just disappeared." He pointed in the direction he had seen the Bonanza go. "I didn't see any flames, which is a very good sign." He turned his eyes, filled with reassurance, towards Lee. "With any luck, they just went down in a field and kicked up a bunch of dirt."

Lee shuddered. "Okay, okay. I need to land this plane now and go find my wife." He swallowed the fear lodged in his throat. 'I won't do anyone any good if I let my emotions get the better of me now.' Pushing all thoughts of Amanda, harmed or worse, from his mind, he let his agent instincts take over and concentrated, once again, on bringing them down as safely as possible.

Richard remained silent as he watched an unusual calm come over the features of the younger man. He was a trained agent and knew that the man sitting beside him was no longer Lee Stetson, the worried husband, but rather Scarecrow, the no-nonsense agent.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda knew things had gone from bad to worse as she heard the desperation in the voice of the pilot and Simon's screams of defeat directed at Lee. The sudden jolt and metallic twang that sent a bone-jarring shudder through her body followed by the sudden lurch as the plane began losing altitude at a terrifying rate, brought her instincts into action. Realizing that she was practically kneeling on the floor, she grabbed the seat behind her and pulled herself back up to her seat. 

Fighting back the fear that was beginning to overwhelm her, she managed to fasten her seatbelt. Tearing her gaze away from the frantic movements of the two men in front of her, she looked out the wind, only to see her husband's plane faltering in the air beside them. She swallowed the scream that rose in her throat at the thought of him crashing into the woods below. 

"Shit!" the pilot yelled. "I can't get control! This things gone crazy." He reached out and flipped a switch, and a new grumbling sound shook the whole craft. "Landing gear's down. Flaps. Flaps!" He again reached out and pressed down on a switch. After a moment, another vibration shook the plane, and he released the switch. "Okay," he muttered as he watched the gauges, "we're slowing." He looked out at the rapidly approaching ground. "but, we're not going to make it to the clearing, Simon! I've lost almost all steering capabilities after that brush with the Mooney!"

Simon tightened his grip on the dashboard in front of him as he gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the pilot. "We don't have much of a choice. We're landing here, and now, whether we like it or not!"

Continuing to stare out the window, Amanda released a silent prayer of thanks at the sight of Lee's plane above her in the distance. An odd wave of relief flowed through her body when she saw that he was beginning to even out his plane, while hers continued its downfall. It surprised her that she was so calm facing her own death, but the knowledge that he would make it eased her fears. Touching the glass before her, she whispered, "I know in my heart that Lee will make it to safety. He'll survive and take care of my family." Wrapping her arms around her knees, she closed her eyes and said her final prayers as she felt the plane thrashing and bouncing through the trees around them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

No sooner had the wheels touched ground and the plane had come to a complete stop, then Lee yanked on the emergency break and was rushing out of the plane before Richard could remove his seatbelt. 

"I'm going to the tower and get some help!" Lee called back to his passenger.

Richard quickly undid his seatbelt and climbed out of the cockpit. He stood on the wing and turned his body to face the wooded area where the plane carrying Amanda King had gone down. Darkness was quickly falling, transforming the woods into a place for the damned, rather than the happy vacation spot so many people had shared. Shrugging off the chill that overtook his body, he turned away from the swaying trees and followed his fellow agent toward the observation tower. 

Lee was met at the bottom of the tower by a park ranger. "What the hell are you doing landing a plane in MY parking lot!?! Do you have any idea how many government regulations you've just broken, buster!?!"

Lee yanked his government identification from his back pocket and shoved it in the ranger's face. "I _am_ the fucking government! Don't even _think _of quoting _me _regulations. Just shut up and listen!" 

The ranger quickly thought twice about saying any more as he took the identification offered from the ranting man and stepped back a few paces. 

Lee swept his left hand through his hair as he searched the parking lot for a vehicle to suit his purposes. "There was a plane crash a few miles back in your woods, in case you hadn't noticed," he stated, his voice showing a bit of sarcasm. Staring intently at the young man, his voice turned serious as he continued his commentary, "One of the occupants of that plane is an agent! I need you to help us pinpoint the exact location of that downed plane!"

Nodding his head in agreement, Richard stepped behind Lee and made eye contact with the confused young ranger. 

Seeing the older man for the first time, the ranger felt a little reassured that he wasn't going to be pummeled by the agent in front of him. He motioned for them both to follow him up the steps. "I saw the plane go down a few minutes before you landed. To be honest I figured you guys were drug runners or something with the way you were flying. I've already contacted the F.A.A., and the local authorities. They should be here anytime now."

Richard rolled his eyes at the thought of them being drug runners. Seeing Lee's back stiffen as they jogged up the never ending steps he was surprised that a mouth full of curses hadn't started escaping from the desperate man's lips. Keeping his thoughts to himself as they reached the top of the steps, he eyed the meager technical equipment offered by the ranger's tower.

Lee stopped in front of a map of the surrounding wooded area. Keeping his eyes focused on the map, his voice was low and demanding as he asked, "So, where exactly did the plane land?" 

The ranger went to stand beside the agitated man and pointed to a small area of open field. "About six miles from here. If they were lucky, they hit on clear ground and not in the trees. We haven't seen any signs of smoke from a fire, so you can at least be assured the plane didn't blow-up."

Lee drew in a deep breath and exhaled loudly. Taking his left index finger, he traced the small area of clearing. Turning to look down at the ranger, he locked eyes with him. "I need access to your phones. I need to call my agency and get a team up here to get her out. I'll need a first aide kit, hiking supplies, flashlights, lanterns, and I'll also need your jeep. The one I saw in the parking lot." 

Nodding his agreement, the ranger grabbed his coat as he pointed to the desk by the wall. "There's the phone. I'll head out to the truck and load up some supplies. The group of folks I told you about should be here before long and you can start your search."

Lee watched as the man hurried down the stairs before heading to the phone. Picking up the receiver, he looked over at the quiet man who had shared his roller coaster ride over the past few hours. "I'm not waiting on some damn rescue team! I'm going after her myself!"

"I figured as much," Richard again nodded in agreement. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but…I'm going, too. The in-flight escort that was coming to support us should be closing in soon. I need to call the tower and let them know our situation before we head out."

Lee smiled for a brief second in thanks and dialed the familiar number of the Agency. "Scarecrow here. Put me through to Melrose!"

Hearing the click of the phone before he could even get his boss' name out, and then the immediate ringing, let Lee know that Billy had left word for his call to be patched through to him immediately. 

"Lee, where the hell are you?" Billy's voice came over the phone.

Lee flopped into the chair behind the desk and rubbed his face as he listened to the worried tone in his boss' voice. "Billy, her plane went down in the woods surrounding the White Pine Trail State Park. I've landed at the ranger tower on the south end." Looking up at the board above the desk, he found the exact location, "It's site #398 in the park." 

Pausing again, he looked over at Richard and then continued, "Fire and I are going in after her. I need you to send a team here to help out. I don't know how bad it is. All we could see was smoke and dirt when we flew over their location. Send out a medical helicopter and have the N.E.S.T. team ready for us."

Billy rested his elbow on his desk and placed his forehead in his palm. "Will do, Lee. Is there anything else?"

Lee closed his eyes and momentarily leaned his head against the back of the chair. "Pray for her. Scarecrow out." With that said Lee hung up the phone and stood from the chair. "Make your calls, Richard. I'm heading out to the Jeep to make sure we have everything we're going to need."

Richard placed his hand on Lee's shoulder as he passed by him. "We'll find her, Lee. You can count on that. Just don't let your emotions get in the way of your instincts."

Lee's hazel eyes held a clouded look as he lifted them to meet Richard's. "I know we will because we aren't leaving these woods until I've done just that." Placing his hand on the older man's shoulder he continued, "Don't worry about me, Fire. Scarecrow, the agent, has seen and done this type of thing a million times before. He'll do it again, and when he finds her, Lee Stetson will be the one thanking God that she's all right and carrying her home."

Richard watched the man before him slowly exit the room. He seemed almost mechanical in his movements as he walked down the stairs. What he'd seen in that man's eyes had reassured him that the agent was fully in control; however it scared the hell out of him to think what would happen if the beauty that kept the beast at bay had died when her plane had gone down. 

Thinking of Weasel, Simon, and all the other evil in the world, Richard picked up the phone. Starting to dial the number for his agency, he vocalized what was going through his mind into the musty air of the room. "May God have mercy on their souls if anything has happened to Amanda King." As if in response to his words, a large clap of thunder roared above and shook the walls of the tower.

Chapter 14

The bare tree limbs swayed in unison with the wind, oblivious to the small aircraft that had made a fresh indention into the forest floor, and now lay, slightly askew, on its belly. Darkness overtook the woods as the storm quickly approached with a force intended to make its observers sit up and take notice. 

Amanda jolted upright in her seat as the sound of thunder echoed through the metal aircraft. Squinting her eyes against the pain that seared through her head, she tried to focus on her surroundings. Reaching up with her right hand, she brushed back the stray hair that fell into her eyes. Her words were barely above a whisper as she looked out of her window into the dark sky. "Thank you, God, for hearing my prayers."

Ignoring the sticky substance that covered her hand when she pulled it away from her forehead, she immediately tried to free herself from the seat. Surprisingly, her seat belt unbuckled with ease, but as she tried to ease out of her seat, she found that a heavy object had pinned down her right foot. Using her hands to feel where her foot was trapped, she realized the large cylinder that had been standing upright on the floor to her left had broken from it's strap, fallen onto her foot, and gotten wedged under the seat, effectively holding her captive.

Panic, once again, rose in her body at the thought of being trapped in a plane that was God knew where. On top of that, she had no idea whether her captures had even survived the crash. Gritting her teeth against the avalanche of pins and needles in her foot as she frantically felt around the aircraft floor. "If I can just find a light." 

As if a higher power were listening to her, another flash of lightning illuminated the cabin, causing her eyes to catch the glint of a flashlight wedged between the pilot's seat and the door. Grabbing the light, she turned it slowly forward, catching a glimpse of an "O2" sticker on the cylinder. Shaking her head, she pondered the irony of being held captive by something that, under other circumstances, could easily save her life. 

When she turned her attention to the cockpit, the sight she beheld made her stomach churn. It didn't take long to realize her flashlight was illuminating what was visible of the pilot. The plane had crashed into a tree, sending him through the windshield. Whether he'd been wearing his seatbelt or not prior to the crash was a mute point; he wasn't wearing it now. The only part that remained in the plane was his legs and feet, which were covered in blood.

Gulping back the nausea, she turned the light to where she had last seen Simon. He, too, had been thrown forward in the crash, but his seatbelt had held, keeping him "safely" inside the plane. She couldn't tell whether he was still alive, but she had no plans of sticking around to find out. 

Putting her common sense to use, she looked for anything she could use to pry the oxygen canister up enough to slip her foot out and get out of the plane. Not finding anything in the area surrounding her compartment, she leaned forward into the cockpit, having to twist her foot to do so. 

Ignoring the searing pain that shot through her foot and quickly traveled up her leg, she proceeded to scan the front of the plane. A smile crossed her lips as she noticed that the hand-hold next to the passenger door was dangling crookedly, barely held in place by a single screw. Leaning carefully over Simon's still inert body, she stretched her left arm as far as she could, grasped the loose handle, and pulled. Just as the handle came free, a gruff moan escaped the lips of the man in the co-pilot's seat.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee's fingers nervously tapped the steering wheel of the jeep as he waited for Richard to exit the tower. "Damn it, Fire. Get your ass out here!" 

His patience hung on a thin wire as he started the engine and moved toward the entrance of the tower. Looking up at the lightning-filled sky, he ruthlessly shoved the fear that Amanda might not make it out of this one behind one the walls she'd spent the last five years tearing down. He was going to need some of the old, reserved agent to come shining through if he was going to rescue his partner. Pushing the gas petal with his right foot and holding the brake with his left, he revved the engine to alert Fire of his presence. 

Richard heard the loud moan of the jeep near the door as he hung up the phone. Taking his gun from its holster, he checked to make sure it was loaded before putting it back inside his jacket. He lit a cigarette and inhaled a large puff, before starting his decent towards the waiting vehicle. He wasn't looking forward to informing Lee that the last word he'd gotten from the rescue crew was that, due to the storm, all rescue efforts had been put on hold. Sighing deeply, he left the safety of the tower and quickly approached the jeep.

Before Richard had completely shut his door, the Jeep's tires screeched as Lee threw it into Drive. Settling into his seat, he noted how reserved the driver appeared to be. Trying to take his mind off of the deafening silence inside the car, Richard retrieved the map of the park from the dashboard. His thoughts raced with ways to tell Scarecrow that any back-up assistance to find his wife was null and void until the threat of the approaching storm system was over. 

Deciding that telling him of their ill-fated luck would do more harm than good, he retrieved a flashlight from the dash pocket and turned it on to get a good look at the map. Continuing to stare at the wrinkled pages before him, Richard cleared his throat. "So, does this road lead to the clearing?"

Lee's eyes remained focused on the road before him as he nodded in agreement. "Most of the way. According to the ranger, we'll have to go the last quarter mile or so on foot. The trail has been littered with fallen trees due to storms like this over the past few months."

Suddenly noticing that Lee had secured his seatbelt, Richard fastened his own then leaned against the passenger window and tilted his head to look at the rumbling sky. "It's going to start raining cats and dogs soon. You think you can find your way around this dark-ass place in the rain?"

A smirk crossed Lee's lips as he glanced at the uncertain man beside him. "Not much different from 'Nam. The only real difference is that here we have a few supplies and a couple of working flashlights. The real bonus is that this time I don't have to worry about running across any landmines."

Richard's eyes twinkled with the smile he so wanted to bestow on the man beside him. He wanted to ease some of the thick tension in the small confines of the Jeep. "So, I take it you have your 'Trail Blazer' badges fully secure and in place."

Knowing that Richard was trying to lighten the mood, Lee tried not to attach the reference to Amanda's camping experience to what the agent had just said. Instead, he reached behind his seat with his right hand and gave the green backpack a hard slap. "Yep. I even had that ranger throw in a waterproof match."

Richard's forehead wrinkled as he watched Lee body relax slightly. "Just one?"

Nodding, Lee continued to pat the small bag behind him as he thought back to the Peter Sacker case fondly. "That's all a good Trail Blazer needs."

Deciding not to delve into the subject, Richard turned to look at what Lee was referring too. "Have one of those for me?"

A low chuckle came from Lee's throat as he pointed to the much bulkier bag in the back seat with his right thumb. "Yep."

Richard's eyes grew large at the site of the monster bag prepared for him. "What in the hell is in that thing?" 

Lee turned his head to the right and looked into the shocked eyes of the older agent. "Everything but the kitchen sink."

Grumbling to himself, Richard turned his eyes back on the road just in time to see one of the trees Lee had been referring to blocking their path. "Shit, Scarecrow! Look out!"

Lee's eyes immediately focused back onto the road, and he jerked the vehicle hard to the left trying to avoid hitting the large obstruction. His reaction had been too late, and the Jeep found itself lodged against the large oak. Slamming his right hand against the steering wheel, Lee closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "I guess the rest of the way on foot starts now."

Thankful he'd been wearing his seatbelt, Richard quietly unfastened it and opened his door. Opening the back door on his side, he retrieved the heavy backpack Lee had indicated was his and walked around to the driver's side. "Let's get going, Scarecrow."

Lee opened the door on his side and retrieved his own bag. "Yeah, I guess we should follow this trail as long as we can."

Walking together through the woods, the men again remained silent as they wondered what lay ahead. Lee sighed as he looked down at the dried leaves that littered the forest floor. He couldn't help but feel he was once again following the Yellow Brick Road, and this time he didn't think it would lead him to the Emerald City.

Richard, too, was having similar thoughts of the Wizard of Oz as he looked over at the trees that rustled loudly in the increasing breeze. The way they swayed to the melody of the wind made it appear as if they had taken on a life of their own. Scowling slightly at the images that flowed into his mind, he suddenly had the overwhelming feeling that there were eyes peering through the darkness from the trees themselves, following his every stride. 

Fully expecting the branches, that now resembled arms, to begin tossing apples at the men on the trail, he stared straight ahead as his nostrils picked up a hint of smoke that drifted in the air, presumably from the downed plane. New images of the Wicked Witch of the West drifted before his eyes. Slumping his shoulders slightly, he looked up at the flashes of lightning and half expected her to swoop down and set fire to the man called Scarecrow, who was now a few paces in front of him.

Shaking his head warding off the bizarre turn his thoughts had taken, he quickened his pace to catch up with his rescue partner. Feeling a chill creep through the outer layer of his jacket to the skin beneath, he somehow knew his new identity in all of this was Toto, who this time, was now faithfully following Scarecrow to find Dorothy. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Frank West looked out the tinted glass window of the agency van as they approached the hospital. After several tense phone calls, the two agents with him had finally been able to locate a medivac chopper at the local hospital. "So which one of you boys can fly this bird?"

The two agents looked at each other with lopsided grins. Placing his arm along the back of his seat, the agent in the passenger seat turned to look at the stressed man sitting in the back. Pointing to the driver with a wide grin, he began to explain, "Old Tom here is an excellent pilot. He was one of those flyboys for the Air Force before he joined us. They nicknamed him 'Tomcat.'" Stopping his dialogue momentarily to look at the smirk on the driver's face he continued, "They don't call him Tomcat just for his flying techniques either." 

Rolling his eyes, Frank rested his head back against the seat and shrugged his shoulders. "I know all about flyboys and their 'Tomcat' habits. Been there, done that!" Lifting his head he locked eyes with the agent. "So, if his name is Tom, I bet I can just guess what your name is."

The agent's smile couldn't have gotten any wider as Tom let out a throaty laugh. "Jerry Flanigan at your service!"

Frank leaned his head back against the seat and released a loud sigh. "I can't believe _I am_ going to rescue my daughter with Tom and Jerry. This has to be a sick joke. Can this day get any worse?"

Continuing the laughter that Tom had started, Jerry shook his head and turned back to face the front of the vehicle. "Well, at least it's not Tom, Dick and Harry out to save the world."

Frank grumbled a few discreet words as he closed his eyes. "No. Dick's already in the woods with Scarecrow trying to save a wayward farm girl who's far from home!"

Feeling the car come to a stop, Frank opened his eyes. Seeing the large building and Tom waiting for the attendant to hand him a pass, he asked, "What are we stopping here for?"

Tom briefly glanced back at Frank before putting the car back into motion. "The chopper is at the top of this parking garage. We'll go to the top level and meet with the hospital attendants. Then we can check in with the flight tower and check the weather conditions. From the looks of things, there's a nasty storm front heading our way."

Frank rolled down his window and looked up at the darkening sky. "Weather be damned! I don't care if we have to fly through a tornado." He paused as Tomcat turned around briefly as if to start protest, then held up his hand, "This isn't open for debate. We _won't _return back here until I've found my daughter and Lee Stetson. Is that understood?!"

Tomcat looked over at Flanigan, and both men reluctantly nodded. Turning his attention to the opening gate, Tomcat moved the van towards the parking garage and towards what he feared to be an impending doom.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda clicked the flashlight off and froze, listening intently for the sounds of breathing from the co-pilot's seat. Holding her breath, she leaned closer to the seat. 'Please, God. Just let him stay knocked out for a few more minutes.' Not hearing any more noises from the injured man, she continued to bring the handle towards her. 

Keeping the light off, she used her sense of touch to wedge the handle, which was a solid curved piece of metal covered by vinyl, under the oxygen canister before her. Taking one last silent deep breath, she began to push down on the end that she held in her hands with all her strength. As she felt the canister begin to lift slightly, she jerked her foot out from its entrapment in one swift motion. Pain filled her body as she forced herself to ease the cylinder back into place. 

Determined to get out of the plane before the giant awoke, she held the flashlight tightly to her chest and eased her way to the pilot's side of the plane. Wedging her small body between the seat and the pilot's mutilated parts, she managed to reach his window. She tried to open the door, only to find that the force of the crash had caused it to jam shut. A few of Lee's choice curses drifted through her mind as she realized that the only options she had left were to either crawl out the broken windshield over the pilot, or to climb over Simon's still body.

Tugging at her lower lip with her teeth, she decided that going over the pilot's limp form was the best option. Still trying to ignore the pain that ripped up her leg from the damage caused to her foot, she managed to place her hands on the dashboard beside his legs. Feeling the glass shards prick at her palms, she rapidly lifted them and began a search for something to cover her hands with. Unable to see anything except during brief flashes of lightning, she decided that her only option was to tear some of the pilot's bloodied clothing from his legs to protect her hands. 

As quietly as she possibly, she tugged at the material that had been partially ripped by the glass. Successful in her attempt, she wrapped the sodden material around her hands and began to pull herself out the front of the plane. 

Safely out of the wreckage, Amanda reached out and clung to the tree where the nose of the plane had all but imbedded itself in the crash. Still afraid to turn on the precious flashlight, she continued to use the more frequent flashes of lightning to feel her way down the tree by using parts of the plane for support. Finding her feet near the ground at last, Amanda glanced back at the object she had been so sure was going to take her life not moments earlier. Taking a deep breath to prepare for the pain she new would come once her feet were firmly on the ground, she gingerly placed her feet on the dusty earth and started her retreat. 

Once she was a few meters from the plane, she tried to quicken her pace, only to be hindered by the swelling in her ankle. Stopping briefly, she sat on the edge of a fallen limb, and removed the flannel shirt that covered her turtleneck. Using her teeth like scissors, she tore a strip of the material from her shirt. When it was free, she quickly wrapped it tightly around her foot and ankle, neatly tying her shoelaces to keep her shoe in place. Once the job was done, she balled up the torn shirt and discarded it beside the limb she was sitting on and rose to began her trip into the darkened forest. She needed to find a safe place to rest and inspect her wounds better. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Agent Tompkins had just finished debriefing William Melrose on the current situation. He smiled as he remembered Billy laughing when he had told him about Mrs. West. "Oh yes," Billy had agreed, "she can get pretty demanding when she wants to know something and no one will give her any straight answers."

That was certainly true. He was glad that Mrs. West was still in the kitchen with Lorna. Lorna had a way with keeping folks occupied; that was one of the reasons the Agency had assigned her and her husband to oversee the White Swan. The sudden shrill of the telephone brought him out of his thoughts.

Tompkins signaled to his agents to be on the ready, just in case it was Weasel. Reaching down he put his hand on the receiver in the living room and nodded for Lorna's husband, Mick, to pick up the phone simultaneously with him.

"White Swan Bed and Breakfast, how may we help you?" Mick asked into the phone.

"I'm looking for Mrs. Amanda Stet…King," the gruff voice replied. 

Tompkins motioned to the agent next to him to start the recorder. 

"I'm sorry. She's not available at the moment, may I take a message?" the older gentleman answered.

"She'd better not be there. Let me speak to Scarecrow," Weasel demanded.

Knowing it was probably Weasel on the other end, he motioned Mick with his hand, indicating that he wanted to take the call. 

Mick nodded in understanding. "Hold on. I'll see if I can find him for you." Putting the receiver down he walked away, letting his footsteps be heard on the hardwood floor.

Tompkins waited a few moments before clearing his throat and speaking into the phone, "This is Tompkins, may I assist you?" 

"No, damn it! I demand to speak to Agent Scarecrow." Weasel's voice was anything but amused as he began to feel like he was getting the run around.

  
"I'm sorry, but Scarecrow isn't available at the moment. He's currently pre-occupied and cannot be disturbed." Tompkins told the man. He figured it was best to be as vague as possible and hope that Weasel bought it. 

"Well as soon as you see the 'Great' Scarecrow, pass this message along to him. He should keep his nose out of my way, or else his stepson will pay the ultimate price." Weasel slammed the phone down and stared at the door to his prisoner's dungeon.

"Oh yes, my fearless young man. Your stepfather had better not interfere with your mother's retrieval of the film. I plan on letting you live just long enough to have a nice reunion with your mother, but if Scarecrow messes up my plans again, I _will_ leave your lifeless body as a reminder to him of just how heartless I can be." He let out an evil laugh and headed upstairs to set his back up plan into motion.

~~~~~~~~~~

Opening his eyes to the darkness, Simon ignored the condition of the pilot beside him and immediately turned his attention to the seat behind him. Groping around in the dark for something to light up the interior, his eyes widened as he felt the abandoned ropes his captive had obviously discarded. "Where the hell is the damn flashlight?"

Releasing his seatbelt, he turned to his left and leaned between the seats. As he searched the back, his fears that the body of Amanda King was not in the plane were confirmed. Finding his duffel bag, he retrieved a flashlight and looked at the conditions of the plane. Aiming his flashlight towards the pilot's seat, he began to shake his head. "Damn! Hate you had to die, old buddy. Oh well, c'est la vie. I don't have time to worry about you; I need to find my little treasure."

Simon picked up his duffel bag and pulled back into the cockpit. His eyes dimmed as he noticed the handle missing from near his door, then he looked towards the seat where he'd last laid eyes on Amanda. His flashlight made a glow over the fresh blood that adorned her seat and followed the crimson path that led to the floor. "I see the little bitch has a few injuries, from the looks of this. This could actually be a fun hunt." Turning his attention toward the woods, he called out, "I don't know where you've gone, you little harlot, but believe me, I _will_ find you!"

Shoving his way back to the passenger side of the plane, he forced his door opened and slid off the wing onto the forest floor. Feeling the fresh rain pellet his face, images of Vietnam flickered, like celluloid in an old projector, through his mind. Licking his lips, he dropped his bag to the ground, unzipped it, and retrieved a few items he knew he would need for the hunt. As he placed his gun into his waistband, he looked up, again, at the groaning sky and the magnificent lightning that filled it. "Yep. Just like old times!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee abruptly stopped his heated pace and removed his backpack. Taking a brief look at the man trailing behind him, he opened his supplies and found the compass. 

Within moments, Richard stood beside him, removing his heavy bundle, and took a seat on the log before them. "So, Scarecrow, are we on the right track?"

Lee's eyes narrowed as he looked into the wooded area ahead. "Yeah. Don't you smell the smoke?"

Richard nodded as he watched the concerned expressions play across the agent's face. "Yep. I picked up a hint of it in the air a few yards back."

Lee shoved the compass back into his backpack and took a seat beside Richard. "It won't be long until the rain reaches us. How long did the air support say it would be before they could get here and radio us with the exact location?"

Richard turned his eyes away from Lee and looked intently at the ground. Shuffling his feet in the dried leaves, he took a cigarette from his breast pocket and lit it. The tension of the past few hours had made his actions quite shaky. "They're not coming until the storm passes over and there's no more threat of wind shears."

Hearing that efforts to find his wife had been put on hold, Lee stood and swung his backpack over his shoulders again. "To be honest, I really didn't expect them too. Doesn't really matter now anyway; we shouldn't be too far from the plane. From what the ranger told me, and judging by the compass reading, we should only be few kilometers away." 

Watching Lee head down the trail once again, Richard placed his cigarette between tight lips and put his heavy burden back over his own shoulders. As he quietly followed the man before him, he felt the first few raindrops sprinkle across his face. "Wonderful!" he muttered and then raised his voice to catch the attention of his fellow traveler, "Scarecrow, I don't suppose the ranger gave us some parkas, did he?"

Lee snapped his head around to look at the man behind him. "Stop complaining, and let's pick up the pace, shall we? This storm is going to be full-fledged by the time we get there if we don't get our asses in gear!"

Richard shrugged the large backpack in a better position on his back and started to quicken his steps. "If I didn't have to carry half the world on my back, I could probably move a little faster. 

Lee ignored the comments from behind him and looked at his compass again. "We're still heading in the right direction, and the smell of smoke is getting stronger!" As he gazed up again to get his bearings, he caught the glimpse of the small Bonanza seemingly sticking out of the large oak up ahead. "Come on, Fire! I just spotted the plane…straight ahead."

Richard took that extra step needed and stood beside Lee. Dropping the backpack to the ground, he retrieved his gun and placed his hand on his fellow agent's shoulder. "We need to take this nice and easy, Lee. We don't know what the hell is waiting for us up there!"

Lee's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the older man. Clenching his teeth against the remarks that flowed through his mind, he nodded and retrieved his own gun. "Turn out your light." Motioning for Richard to weave around to the backside of the plane by going to the left, Lee proceeded to head straight for the plane using the trees as cover. 

The hair on Lee's neck stood on edge as he surveyed the plane in the darkness. The nose appeared to be heavily embedded in the tree before it, though the tree had been violently gouged by the spinning propeller, and the shadow of a body lay draped awkwardly across it. Continuing to use his agent instincts as a guide, he fought the urge to rush ahead and find out exactly who had lost their life. Moving slowly to the passenger side of the plane, he stepped up onto the wing, leaned against the open door, and prepared to make his move. 

Richard had made his way around the pilot's side of the plane as Lee reached the passenger door. Seeing the pilot's rain-soaked, lifeless body, Richard moved towards the back of the plane, trying to see the remaining occupants through the windows. 

Lee listened to Richard's movements on the other side of the plane and then, without another moment's hesitation, swung the passenger door open in one swift motion with his gun cocked and aimed low for any possible danger. His eyes searched the interior, using the light provided by the lightning, and momentary relief flowed through his body at the site of empty seats. "She's not here!"

Richard kept his eyes open to the wooded area that surrounded them as he made his way completely around the plane to the passenger side. Nodding, he couldn't keep the concern from his voice as he spoke. "She's alive, Lee, but I don't see Simon's body."

Lee retrieved his flashlight from the waistband in the back of his jeans and clicked it on. Leaning back out of the door, he used the bright light to survey the surroundings, and new fears replaced the relief he'd felt only moments before. "There's a lot of blood back here, Richard."

Richard had turned on his own flashlight and was inspecting the front of the plane. "Yeah, there's a lot up here, too. The thing to remember is…is that she's not in here. She's alive and moving. We just need to find her and…pray that that bastard isn't with her."

Lee nodded and leaned back into the plane. Within moments, he noticed the cut ropes that lay sprawled on the floor amongst what appeared to be a detached handle, shards of glass, and an up-ended oxygen canister. He edged into the plane and reached back to pick up the now-frayed ropes. Holding them in his hand, he swore he could feel the warmth of his wife's skin…and could even make out the indentations the ropes had made on her beautiful wrists. "They had her tied up," he growled. 

Richard had rested his hip on the wing keeping his back to Lee, watching out for any unexpected guests. Leaning back against the plane, he could hear the torment that Lee was suffering from the tone of his voice. "She's alive, Scarecrow. Just keep remembering that." The plane shifted as he stood to walk down the length of the wing. "Let's concentrate on finding your partner!"

Shaking his gun slightly in his left hand, Lee sat in the doorway, his feet resting in the passenger seat. Taking a deep breath to calm the emotions that he was allowing back into the game again, a sudden hint of gasoline filled his nostrils. Pushing himself out of the door, he stood on the wing, his senses on full alert.

Hoping his harsh tone of voice had brought Lee back to his senses, Richard absently pulled out his cigarette pack and shook the remaining cigarettes to the open hole at the end. Pulling one of the precious sticks out of the pack, he leaned back against the wingtip and pulled out his lighter. 

Lee's eyes widened as the light of his flashlight shone over Richard's face and then flashed on a thin pool of yellowish liquid that painted a portion of the wing behind him. "Richard! Don't--"

Chapter 15

Standing before the rust-colored door, Weasel argued within himself about what to do with the current situation. 'On one hand, I could just tie up my loose ends now and drift off to some tropical island. I've already received half the money I was promised for the retrieval of that damn list. It's really all I need to live life well for the remainder of my years. On the other hand, if I do kill the kid now and split, I wouldn't get the chance to see the look on Scarecrow's face when the time comes for his ultimate demise."

Chuckling to himself at the surprise he held for Scarecrow, despite the anger he held over not hearing from Simon, Weasel reached out and turned the knob on the door before him. Secure in the fact that the door was locked, he proceeded to the room just to the left to make a few phone calls. The possibility of Simon making stupid mistakes was always high, but he had usually checked in on a regular basis one way or another. Unless of course, Simon had taken things a bit to far with the King woman and didn't want him to find out.

Taking a seat behind the makeshift desk, he picked up the phone and began to start his search for his missing ward. His thoughts wandered to the list that the King woman should have in her possession. He knew that, before long, his associates would be knocking at his door for reassurance that it had been destroyed. With the other half of the money he was to receive upon fulfilling his promise, he would be able to live like a king for the rest of his life. As he picked up his tattered books of associates, he immediately saw the number he should try first. Picking up the phone, he punched in the numbers for his contact at the F.A.A. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda's head began to swim as unconsciousness threatened to take control of her body. Keeping her eyes as focused as she could with the pounding in her head and the pounding of the rain, she decided if she were to continue her race for freedom, she would need to stop and rest. 

As she leaned against the tree, the smell of pine needles filled her senses. The simple smell brought back happy memories of times spent with her boys on camping adventures. Relaxing somewhat with the thoughts, she eased her way down to sit on the soft pine needles that made a comfortable resting spot. She had been able to push the pain of her right foot from her mind while she had been escaping into the night, but with her body beginning to relax, the pain began rushing back with a vengeance. 

Turning the dimming light of her flashlight towards her foot, she felt somewhat relieved to see that her shoe was still intact, but her ankle seemed to continue with its extensive swelling. Not knowing how far she had traveled and uncertain of how long it would take her to find help, she began to have doubts that she would make it out of this adventure alive.

Leaning her head back against the prickly bark, she closed her eyes. 'I have to get over this and get back on my feet. Phillip needs me to save him.' Keeping her eyes closed, she reached into her shirt and retrieved the coveted item. As she felt the soft material that contained the list of names, she thought of another man who needed her. She knew he would come for her…he always did. 'Lee, if I make it out of this, I promise to never run off on my own again.' Sighing she returned the small black bag to its hiding place against her body.

Opening her eyes against the force of the rain, she tightened the material around her shoe and began to stand. Feeling nausea threatening to take over, she swallowed it back and scolded herself. "You can do this, Amanda Stetson! You've come too far in your life to sit on your butt and feel sorry for yourself now!" 

She used the tree to help counter her shaking legs, and after an iffy moment, she continued to stand. As she kept a tight grasp on her flashlight, she brushed her left hand against her soaked pants to try and remove the sticky residue that the pine tree had left attached to her hands. Taking a step away from the tree, she pushed even harder at the pain and finally succeeded in driving it back into the far reaches of her mind.

Hearing the words of his prey, Simon's smile glistened in the rain, and after only a minute of concentration, he caught sight of her in a lightning flash, almost dead ahead of him. He had enjoyed his little hunt for her and found himself surprisingly disappointed that it had been so short. As he watched her begin to slowly move amongst the trees, he decided that perhaps now was not the time to recapture his little bird. Her body was weak, and before long she would have to stop and sleep for the night. 'I believe I'll wait until she feels safe enough to sleep to surprise her.' 

Remaining at a safe distance behind her, his mind filled with the thoughts of how he would obtain the information she held. How he would enjoy each moment of her agony, and how he would savor watching the light drain from her eyes. 'Weasel be damned! I know he'll be pissed if I listen to my own desires and then destroy his bait for Scarecrow, but I don't care. I'm tired of taking orders from that man…he'll get his list, just not my prey.' He laughed inwardly and followed Mrs. Stetson into the darkness of the woods. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Jumping from the plane, Lee landed mere inches from Richard's face. He slammed his fist against the slick wing as he stared at the small white stick that landed on the ground in front of him. "Damn it! Are you trying to kill us!?!"

Bending down to retrieve the soaked cigarette, Richard's hands began to tremble as the realization hit him of what he'd just been about to do. "Sorry."

"Fire! What the hell is wrong with you!?!" Lee demanded once his fellow traveler had safely put the lighter away. "Don't you know anything? This plane has crashed! These wings are nothing but giant fuel tanks, and even in this damn rain, I could tell there's a leak in this one. Besides that," he continued on his tirade, "didn't you smell the damn fumes?" Lee stared at Richard, half expecting a smart-ass comment.

Instead Richard only stared back apologetically, shaking his head slowly, "I said I was sorry, Lee. I wasn't thinking." He turned his attention towards the surrounding trees. "I guess my mind was elsewhere."

Lee realized what Fire was referring to. Turning his head back toward the front of the plane, stuck so ominously in the shredded, defenseless tree trunk, his thoughts quickly returned to his wife, out there somewhere, waiting for him to come and find her. "Come on! We don't have time to waste. We need to find Amanda." Moving towards the passenger side of the plane, he bent down and picked up his previously discarded backpack. "Gather your stuff and meet me by the tree."

Richard looked questioning at the man bellowing orders then walked the few steps up the trial to retrieve his backpack. 

"Don't ask questions, Fire. We'll move off in circular rotations. I'll go clockwise, you go counter-clockwise." Lee replied to the look in Richard's eyes.

Bending down to retrieve his own heavy burden, Richard called out, "What are we looking for?"

"You'll know it…" Lee started to say, but then stopped as a sudden burst of memory overwhelmed him, a flashback to all the times he'd said "You'll know it when you find it" to Amanda.

"You'll know what?" Richard asked as he met Lee at the front of the plane.

Shaking his head, Lee pushed those memories to the back of his mind. "Just look for clues. Clues that'll tell us which direction Amanda went. Big, little, a footprint, a broken twig, anything." As he spoke, his hazel eyes were already trying to scan the eerie darkness around him. "Every time we meet, we'll take a few more steps away from the plane and continue our rotation."

Richard nodded his acceptance and moved four paces forward beside Lee before starting his own trek in a counter-clockwise rotation. They met four times and moved outward before either one spotted a clue.

After twenty minutes of no progress, Lee was becoming annoyed. He'd done nothing but keep his eyes glued to everything that appeared in the white light of the flashlight. Ignoring the rain soaking him to the bone, his only thoughts were on which direction Amanda had gone. 

Every time lightning flashed, his eyes had to readjust to the flashlight beam, and every second of readjustment made his search for clues painstakingly slow. Frustration getting the better of him, he kicked a rock by a nearby log. No sooner had his foot made contact with the object than he stopped short. The feel of the object he had just kicked was too soft to be a rock. 

  
Quickening his pace, he moved in the direction the object had flown. Finding it a few feet from the log, he bent down and picked it up. "Oh, my God. Fire! Over here!" Lee called out into the nigh, as he hugged the precious object to his chest. Closing his eyes, he inhaled the special fragrance into his nostrils. As he opened them again, a sudden realization came to him. Her perfume still lingered, even under the harsh weather conditions. She had to have left it only a short time ago. 

Richard reached him within moments. "What is it?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. However, concern quickly turned to curiosity as he beheld the sight of a torn flannel shirt Lee presented to him. "It's a shirt. I was…"

Lee pulled the soaked flannel back against his body. "This is Amanda's shirt." His eyes drifted shut as another memory came forward. "I gave it to her." Opening his eyes, again, he stared at the man before him. "Don't you realize…this is the clue we've been looking for? It means she headed off in this general direction." He swung his arm in an arc, signifying a wedge that was narrow where they stood and ever widening as they started to move away. 

Richard nodded his understanding. "I guess this means no more going round in circles," he mumbled.

  
Lee ignored the older man's comments and, keeping the shirt clutched in his hand, looked up at the sky. 'Please God, let her still be all right. Please, keep Simon away from her.' Turning his attention back to the forest in front of him, he motioned with his head. "Come on Fire. This way!" he bellowed. Then, as he walked, he looked down at the torn shirt and sent a silent promise to his wife. 'Don't worry my love, I'm coming for you.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda could no longer keep up with her own slow pace. Her body was too exhausted and her foot was no longer willing to cooperate. "Just a few minutes of sleep is all I need." A soft smile crossed her lips as the lightning illuminated a shabby campsite a few feet before her. It was a large, though old, canvas lean-to that was apparently kept intact for wayward hikers. Using the last of her strength, she managed to make her way inside the molded canvas. 

Had she been more aware of her surroundings, she would have been pleasantly surprised that the inside of the shelter was completely dry. As it was, she only knew she was safe from the storm, and her body immediately began to shut down as she sank to the hard floor. With her head cradled against the inside of her right arm, she quickly drifted into a restful slumber. 

Simon smiled as, during a momentary glow of lightning overhead, he saw her nearly fall to her knees as she entered the shelter. The rain seemed to have let up, if just for a moment, and he was able to make out the outline of the shelter even between lightning flashes. Quietly making his way closer to the flapping tent door his prey had neglected to close, a wave of pity overtook his natural disposition of hatred. He brushed it away as quickly as it had come and blamed it on his own need for warmth from the night storm. 

Assessing his surroundings, he brushed back some of the debris from the ground and found several small sticks that were mostly dry and could probably be used to start a fire. As he quietly moved the tent flap back, he watched for any movement from her body. Not seeing any, he decided that exhaustion had taken over and he could do as he pleased. Setting the firewood in place, he struck a match against the back of the small pack he carried. Vietnam had taught him to be prepared, and he had found his past experience to be most helpful in his day-to-day life.

Simon relaxed at the edge of the tent as he fanned the small blaze with his hand. He would allow her to rest and regain some energy before he woke her. 'I don't like my prey to be too weak and defenseless. I like to have some fun before the kill.' Retrieving his gun from his back pocket, he placed it on his lap with a protective hand on the trigger. "Goodnight, sleep tight, and when you wake, we'll see what bites."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Nighthawk sat in the co-pilot's seat watching the dark storm clouds passing ominously outside his window. Thoughts of his daughter and son-in-law, out there in this mess waiting for the rescue crews to arrive, only drove his own desire to reach them that much stronger.

Turning in his seat, he looked behind him and spoke to Jerry. "Any word from Dulles?" Jerry only shook his head. "Well, keep trying to get in touch with the Dulles tower and get Melrose. We need to know where they touched down." Nighthawk ordered.

"I'll keep at it," Jerry replied. Then, once the old man had turned his head back around, he rolled his eyes. 'Don't know why we're being forced to take orders from some old veteran who doesn't even have agent status. Who cares if he has war experience?' Staring intently at the back of the older man's head he mumbled under his breath, "That doesn't give him the right to put our lives in danger."

Watching the clouds once again, Nighthawk thought about Dotty and the kind of tirade she must have gone on when she realized that one more of her family had run out without a word or care about any of the remaining family members. He suddenly felt a twinge of pity for the agents still within the safe walls of the White Swan. 'I doubt, when Dotty gets through, the walls will still be standing.'

Smiling at that thought, Nighthawk turned his attention to the agent known as "Tomcat." 'I'll give him credit; he knows how to fly this thing.' As they began to approach the stormy atmosphere, he said out loud, "This type of atmosphere isn't much different than dodging enemy fire. Why don't you let me take the controls, and you can scour the ground for any signs of an S.O.S." 

Tomcat started to protest, but then decided that if he gave Nighthawk the controls, he'd stop nagging poor Jerry to get Dulles on the line. "Okay, but these new birds are different than the ones you flew in 'Nam. So, holler if you need me." He waited to feel Nighthawk take control before removing his right hand from the cyclic and then finally, his left from the collective. He was just about to look at Jerry and make some sort of silent remark, when his partner's voice filled the cabin. 

"Got it! By my calculations, we're not far from there. Thanks Melrose, Flanigan out." Jerry finished jotting down the information and then turned his attention to the two pilots in the front. "They're somewhere in the White Pine Trail State Park. Scarecrow's plane landed safely by some ranger's tower and then he and Fire set out to find where the plane carrying Mrs. King went down."

A spark of hope went through Nighthawk as the feel of the chopper became familiar to him. He'd called in some favors and played on the sympathy of friends through the years to get back "in the saddle" and keep his piloting skills intact. 'Lee made it alive. If only we knew for sure that Amanda was safe, too. No time to dwell on that now.' Speaking out loud, he said, "Well, boys, looks like we have a rescue to make. Flanigan, what are the coordinates of the park?"

Jerry passed the coordinates to Tomcat, who quickly adjusted the instruments and made notations on the map. Nighthawk operated the chopper with ease as he turned the nose in the direction that would lead him to his waiting family.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Scarecrow's legs began to plead with his brain for rest as he crept around the trees and through the unforgiving storm. Glancing to his left to see the familiar light of his current partner's flashlight, he started to head in his direction.

Fire quickly noted the approaching light and aimed his gun in that direction. Seeing that it was, indeed, Scarecrow, his body relaxed, and he flopped down on a nearby rock. "Scarecrow, I'm not sure if we're aren't doing more harm than good. If we keep trying to track them down in this storm we could be covering up more evidence that might lead us to her quicker; once the storm lets up."

Lee looked down at the weary man before him and let his emotions come slightly into play. Knowing that Richard was probably right, and since his own body screaming for rest, he took a seat beside him. "I just feel as if we're really close to finding her. I'm afraid if we wait this storm out, we'll lose too much time…too much precious time."

Richard clicked his flashlight off and kept his eyes turned down towards the earth beneath him. "I know. I'm just thinking if we could get some helicopters to patrol over this area and perhaps a few dogs in here to help with the hunt, we'd be better off."

Ignoring the stinging in his eyes from the rain, Lee kept his eyes focused on the surrounding area. "I know it sounds weird, Richard, but I can feel her close by. I know, in my heart, that if we give up now, we'll be too late."

Smiling at the words spoken by the man beside him, Richard nodded his agreement. He had watched the partnership of Stetson and King develop over the past five years. Each day that he sat back in the shadows and observed, he began to understand their relationship better. He had no doubt that Lee could "feel" Amanda's presence. Whether the couple knew it or not, their mental link, that intangible something that connected them, was what had saved both their lives so many times in the past, and he knew that nothing short of a world-wide disaster would keep it from continuing in their future. 

Pushing to his feet, he realized for the first time that the rain had slowed to a sprinkle and gave Lee a pat on the back. "Well, get your ass in gear so we can go find that stubborn partner of yours."

Lee glanced up at the man in front of him with a lopsided smile of appreciation. Standing up to join Fire, Lee's eyes widened and the grin dropped away. "Do you smell that?" Not waiting for a response from his companion, he headed off in the direction of the odor.

Richard looked in the direction Lee was headed. "Smell what?!? Wait up!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda smiled in her sleep as she smelled the smoke from the fire that burned in Lee's fireplace. In her dream, she and Lee were lying together, next to the fireplace, sharing a romantic evening.

Simon watched as the look of happiness crossed her features. Placing his hands on the canvas floor, he crawled beside her and began to caress her cheek with his rough fingers. Amanda's body reacted to the contact by leaning in to his touch. "Mmmm…Lee."

Simon softly laughed at her whispered words. Placing his mouth directly over her ear, he whispered, "I'm afraid not."

Amanda's eyes shot open as she realized the voice was not that of her husband. Her lips parted to release a blood-curdling scream she found that her voice was lost as she looked into the cold eyes of her hunter. Simon roughly grabbed her hands with his and pinned her to the mat. "What's the matter, bitch? Cat got your tongue?"

Amanda struggled to break free from the bulky man that confined her, but he was too strong, and she was still too weak. Deciding that perhaps her best chance for survival was to listen to the madman and take her lead from what he said, she relaxed her body beneath his. 

Simon once again laughed at the fire he saw rise up in her eyes. "Give up?"

Amanda's mind told her to react with spiteful words, but her instincts kept her in line. Finding a whispered voice she slowly nodded. "Yes."

Simon narrowed his eyes as he watched her immediate surrender. He was leery of her feeble attempt to escape his grasp and how easily she gave in. "You're not fooling this old dog, bitch. I know what's going through that pretty little head of yours, and you can just forget it."

Amanda closed her eyes briefly and tried to hide the intentions that were so clearly evident in the depths of her betraying brown eyes. Gritting her teeth, she reopened them to the smiling man's face that hovered inches from hers. "What do you want from me?"

Simon leaned back, pulling her hands up with his. When she was in a sitting position, he took both of her hands in his right and gently stroked her hair from her face with his left. "First I want the list you went to retrieve." Stopping to remove his hand from her matted hair, he placed his left index finger on her dried lips and continued, "Then I want you. If you do what pleases me, I'll let you live to see your son again."

Refusing to let him get the best of her, Amanda held his intense stare with her own. "I didn't find the list!"

Simon shrugged his shoulders and pulled her body tightly to his. Grabbing a hand full of her hair from the back of her head, he snapped her head backwards so her eyes met his. "Ya know, I really don't care anymore, whether you did or didn't find that damn list. It's been a long time since I've held something this soft and warm in my arms." 

Not allowing her to respond, he pressed his lips to hers and demanded entrance with his tongue. Amanda gasped as she felt his hot mouth intensify its request. Reacting with fear, she opened her mouth and allowed his tongue complete entrance…before taking it between her teeth and biting with all her strength. 

A roar of pain could be heard echoing through the woods as Simon jolted his head back away from the tearing teeth. Flinging her body to the floor as if it were a rag doll, he spat the blood that was quickly filling his mouth to the floor. "Want to play rough, little girl?" he growled, spitting blood again. "Well, you came to the right place."

As he wiped the dripping blood from his chin, he moved closer to her. Closing any space that had been between them before, he grasped the collar of her white turtleneck sweater between his fingers and yanked, tearing the front of it from her body. An approving smile replaced the snarl he had worn, as his eyes absorbed the creamy skin before him. "Damn, this is going to be fun!"

Amanda was dazed from being thrown to the floor of the tent, and her body was still too weak to effectively resist the attack she knew was to come. Closing her eyes, she forced her thoughts to her children and her husband. 'If I can live through this, perhaps his defenses will go down and I can escape.'

Clenching her fists tightly closed, she refused to look at him as she felt his fingers begin to touch her skin above her bra. "So, beautiful…" His hand was hot and rough against her flesh as he pushed against the lacey material, then he suddenly stopped. "What the hell!?!"

Amanda's eyes immediately opened as she heard the distinct yell of her husband within the same quarters she now lay. The first image she laid eyes on was that of her husband dragging the vulgar man from the tent and through the fire that burned at the edge. Ignoring her body's cries of weakness and pain, she quickly moved out of the tent into the returning rain to help Lee. 

The darkness had enveloped them as the small fire was suffocated by Simon's weight. Lightning again flashed, and Amanda's eyes fell upon a sight that scared her worse than death. The glint from a knife shone in the wake of the lightning flash as Simon placed it against her husband's neck. Simon had penned Lee to the forest floor with his weight, rendering him slightly unconscious and removing any chance Lee had of retaliating.

Amanda could no longer hear any sounds from Lee. Frantically searching for anything to draw Simon's attention, she retrieved a large limb from the ground and began to charge at him. Hearing the panicked screams from his captive, Simon turned to face her as she struck him with the limb. Being caught by surprise, the large man was thrown off balance by the small force, and he rolled onto the ground next to Lee.

Reacting quickly, Simon jumped to his feet and looked down at the semi-conscious man. As he released a loud laugh, he pointed his knife towards Amanda, pulling her, once again into his arms, he began to reach towards her chest. 

A shot rang out above the animalistic cry that left Simon's lips. Another shot cracked the darkness as the giant fell to the earth. Amanda rushed to her husband's side not caring who had fired the shot that saved her life. "Lee! Lee! Answer me!"

A loud moan exited Lee's mouth as he moved his hand to rub his now throbbing temple. Amanda reached out and hugged her husband, all thoughts of her own pain far from her mind. "Lee! Oh, Lee." Suddenly, the knowledge that she was now safe and once again by her husband's side allowed the fear and anxiety to flow from her in the form of tears.

Lee felt Amanda's body begin to shake, and he reached out quickly to envelop her in his arms. "Shh...it's all right," he soothed as his eyes fell upon Fire holding the smoldering gun at his side and leaning down to ensure that Simon was no longer a threat. Seeing Fire nod that Simon was indeed dead, Lee tightened his hold on his wife.

Amanda felt the strong arms tighten around her and heard the soothing words of her husband. After hours of hell, she finally had a reason to smile. "Oh, Lee. I'm so sorry. If only I hadn't…but I had to," she sobbed.

Lee reached up with his left hand and gently stroked her damp hair. "Hey, let's not worry about that now. Come on, we need to get in out of this cold and figure out a way to get back to civilization."

Amanda felt his arms loosen around her, and she slowly pulled herself into a sitting position. As she began to raise herself up onto her feet, she faltered as the pain once again set in and shot through her like rockets. Lee, seeing the pain his wife was enduring by her jerky movements, quickly rose and went to assist her. Noticing for the first time her almost-bare front, he removed his jacket and placed it around her shoulders, pulling it tight and zipping it to just under her chin. When she was once again covered, he picked her up and started to carry her towards the safety of the dry tent.

Richard had begun to move towards them when he heard the distinct rumble of a chopper above. He changed direction, running over to where Lee had discarded his backpack and began rummaging for something to signal their location. "Scarecrow! There's a chopper overhead. Did the ranger give us any flares?"

Lee stopped in his tracks as he and Amanda both strained to hear the sound of salvation from above. He turned his head around to look at Richard. "Yeah, he did. But they're in your pack, not in mine."

Richard quickly dropped Lee's backpack and ran back to where he had left his, moments before he had shot Simon down. Pulling out the flare gun, he slammed the cartridge in place. Aiming he fired it into the air at a 45 degree angle, and prayed that it would be seen through the inhospitable weather. Without hesitation, he loaded the gun two more times and fired in the same direction.

When Lee saw the final flare go up, he turned and carried Amanda into the tent, setting her on her feet slowly and gently. When she quickly reached for his arm to steady herself, he wrapped his arms around her and eased her down to the floor. 

"Do you think they'll see them, Lee?" Amanda asked, as she held onto her husband's left hand with both of hers. For a moment, she hugged it close to her chest. Then images of another man's hand in almost the same position flashed into her mind with frightening clarity, nearly causing her to fling his away. Catching herself, she beat back the memory with a shiver and pressed Lee's palm tightly between her breasts. Almost immediately, the familiar warmth, the beloved touch, soothed her fears.

Sensing something in his wife's action, Lee tightened his right arm even more protectively around her and kept his other hand pressed possessively against her, even when her almost desperate grip loosened. "I'm sure they will." Lee replied, trying to be as optimistic as possible. Usually it was his wife providing that kind of moral support.

Amanda's eyes had now adjusted to the darkness enough that she was able to turn her head and see the uncertainty in her husband's features. "I really am sorry, Lee. If I hadn't gone off on my own like that..." Lee started to protest, but she tightened her grip, again. "With Phillip missing and Weasel making threats, I just feared losing you, too…"

The meaning behind her last words weren't lost on Lee. He knew she still feared for Phillip's safe return. Leaning down, he kissed her lips. "Don't worry. We'll get back in time to save Phillip." The wind outside picked up as they heard the loud hum of the chopper approaching. 

Finding some reserve strength, Amanda stepped out of her husband's embrace, unzipped the coat and pulled the black bag from its hiding place. Holding it out for Lee, she whispered, "Well, if we can get this back to Boston and use it to lure Weasel out…I'm sure we can."

Lee accepted the pouch, and without questioning, knew that the list Weasel sought was inside. No longer worried about her immediate safety, his mind raced with all the things he'd wanted to say to Amanda once they were back together again. "One of these days, Amanda Stetson, you and I _are_ going to have a long talk about staying put and following orders." His tone wasn't angry, but firm as he spoke.

Amanda knew what he meant. "I know, Lee, but…well…you know I'm always going to listen to my instincts above any amount of reason."

As a flash of lightning lit up the tent, he took in the innocent face he so cherished. Unable to hide the humor he suddenly felt, he let out a robust laugh. "I love you, Mrs. Stetson. I'm going to go out and see what's keeping our rescuers." He bent down and placed another kiss on her lips, before handing the pouch back to her and slipping out of the tent.

"I love you, too, Lee." Amanda called after him. 

Lee reached the outside just in time to see Richard greet two of the agents from the White Swan. He recognized the one as Agent Flanigan, and as he got closer, he saw the other was the Agency's resident flyboy, Tomcat.

Jerry saw Lee approaching and headed to meet him. "I see you guys have gotten everything under control." Lee nodded. "We just told Fire that we radioed these coordinates to Dulles. Melrose is sending a ground team from the ranger's tower here shortly. Where's Mrs. King? Is she all right?" 

  
Lee turned towards the tent. "Yes, she's fine. A bit banged up from the crash, but she'll be as good as new, once we get her to the N.E.S.T team."

"Tomcat and I will stay behind with Simon's body and wait for the ground team to get here. Why don't you take Mrs. King and Fire, and head back to Boston? The chopper's just beyond those trees in the clearing. Just listen for the motor; you can't miss it."

"Thanks Flanigan. We'll do just that." He patted the man's shoulder and started back towards the tent. Just before reaching the flap, he called out to the agent. "Who's staying with the chopper?"

"Nighthawk," Jerry replied over his shoulder as he continued to move closer to the lifeless body of Simon Olson.

Lee smiled as he entered the tent. "We've been rescued." He bent down to pick Amanda up before she could even start to stand. "Oh, no you don't. I can tell you're in pain. I think I'll carry you to the waiting chariot."

Amanda decided that protesting at this point would be pointless. "Why thank you, dear knight." She smiled as they both realized the true meaning behind her words. Lee would always be her "knight in shining armor."

They met up with Richard just outside the tent. "Shall we? I understand there's a very anxious pilot waiting to make sure you're all right, Amanda," Richard explained as they walked in the direction of the chopper. 

  
Amanda looked questioningly at Richard, and then at Lee. "You don't mean…" She cut her own words off as she saw the gentle face of her father peering out from the windshield of the medivac. 

The minute Lee placed her in the chopper, Amanda maneuvered herself over to the pilot's chair and placed a kiss on her father's cheek. "Daddy, I can't think of anyone else I'd rather see coming to our rescue. Thank you."  
  
Frank looked lovingly at his daughter, "Anytime, Panda, anytime. You don't think I could sit still and do nothing, any more than your husband there could, do you?" He chuckled as he watched Lee enter the cockpit and sit down in the co-pilot's seat. 

"Tomcat and Flanigan are staying behind to wait for the clean-up crew." Lee explained, as he saw the questioning look in Nighthawk's eyes. "Therefore, you'll be needing a co-pilot."

"It'll be just like old times," Nighthawk replied, as a broad smile crossed his lips.

Amanda looked at Richard and took a seat in the back of the medivac. Richard just shook his head and chose the seat beside her. "I think we're in for one heck of a ride," he mumbled.  
  
Amanda had heard him and quietly remarked, "Yeah, but it's got to be a thousand times better than the one I just had." As their eyes met, they both broke out into a chuckle.

As the two pilots prepared for take off, Nighthawk looked over at Lee, and remarked sarcastically, "Can I just say what a pleasure it was to be stuck with 'Tom and Jerry?'"   
  
Lee glanced over at his father-in-law, a wide grin across his lips. "Hey, I never said the Agency was perfect," he replied in voice full of humor. He leaned closer to Nighthawk and said quietly. "I'm just glad that their partnership already had the moniker before Amanda and I got together." Turning his head around, he winked at his partner and mouthed 'I love you.'

She returned his wink and the exchange, mouthing, 'I love you, too.' Then out loud she said, "All right, my knights, let's get back to Boston."

To be continued…


	6. Giving Thanks for What We Have - Part 6

Disclaimers: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned authors. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you would like to add it to an archive, please just let us know.

Summary: This story takes place after the series has ended. It's a "sequel" of sorts to our story _"More Than Meets the Eye."_ A man from Lee's past turns Amanda's family life upside down.

Author's Notes: We did extensive research surrounding the Vietnam War and events that took place during that time. Some scenarios mentioned really did occur; we just added the wonderful world of SMK to them. Any airplane scenes mentioned we checked with a flight expert to handle any reality issues as we wrote. A very special thank you to Tammy for beta reading and being a true part of helping us write this story.

Timeframe: Thanksgiving the year they were married.

Rating: R (some suggestive situations and language)

**__**

Giving Thanks for What We Have

By Diane & Amy (Two Phantoms)

Chapter 16

The parade of vehicles entered the parking lot of the Swan in the wee hours of the morning. Darkness still filled the sky, but within a few of hours the sun would streak its glory for all to see. 

Amanda leaned against her husband's strong shoulder, having been lulled into a blissful sleep by the gentle hum of the tires beneath her. Lee's eyes had remained focused on her face for the majority of the trip from the airport. He had feared that this time would have been the one time he wasn't going to be able to rescue her from the clutches of danger, but he had, and that was all that mattered now. Smiling down at the sight of her slightly-parted lips and her thick, dark eyelashes that rested on her pale cheeks, a sense of calm returned to his body.

Hearing the stifled yawn of his father-in-law, Lee lifted his eyes from his wife and gently tucked her head under his chin. His friend had, once again, come to his aid in the nick of time. The man who shared the back seat with him and his wife was not only his rescuer, friend, and fellow agent, he was part of his family.

The words "his family" had a new meaning to him now. For many years, the term "family" meant the names that filled his contact book. Now, his family was more than just faces that he saw from time to time; they were the people he loved more than he ever thought possible. Seeing the brightly-lit house before them as the vehicle stopped, his thoughts turned to the one family member who currently was not under his protective eyes: Phillip.

Hesitant to wake his sleeping beauty, Lee watched the tired assemblage of agents file out of their cars and drag their exhausted bodies up the steps of the White Swan. As he watched Richard open the car door for Frank, he decided that it was inevitable. "Amanda…wake up, honey. We're back."

Amanda shifted slightly in his arms at the sound of his voice but only managed to snuggle closer to his body. Frank smiled at her actions then turned away, as Richard and Agent Sparks both assisted him into his wheelchair and headed towards the front porch. She had been through so much over the past forty-eight hours, Lee hated to disturb any rest she was getting. He was sure that the drugs the N.E.S.T. team had administered had something to do with her peaceful slumber. 

The congregation of N.E.S.T personnel had met them at airport upon their arrival, quickly whisking her from the helicopter and his protective eye. A soft chuckle rumbled in his chest as he remembered the adamant, and often loud, protests she had bombarded the medical crew with. She had insisted that a bump on the head and a swollen ankle required nothing more than a couple of aspirin and perhaps an Ace bandage. 

The team had reluctantly given in to her demands after they'd ascertained that her ankle contained no broken bones, but they had insisted that she have a complete scan in the morning if her concussion appeared to give her even the slightest problem. She had protested that the only reason her head looked so bad was because "head wounds always bleed a lot."

Deciding that trying to convince her to go to the hospital was a losing battle, Dr. Uric released her, but only on a few conditions. First, that she would not be alone at any time over the next forty-eight hours. Second, that an N.E.S.T. team member would accompany them to the Swan to be on hand for any medical emergencies. Third, that she would stay off of her feet as much as possible and apply ice packs to her ankle on a twenty-minutes- on-and-forty-minutes-off cycle. 

Amanda had eagerly accepted the terms as she gingerly exited the ambulance with Lee's help. Lee had stood at the back of the ambulance accepting aid for the bump on his head as he anxiously awaited her release. As they started to walk away from the vehicle, Dr. Uric placed his hand on Lee's shoulder. "Stetson, I have something that I think even you can follow." Handing Lee the small square paper, he turned to go back to the ambulance. 

Lee looked down at the scribbling and turned his head back towards the doctor. "RICE?"

Dr. Uric sighed as he started back towards the pair. "Yes, Lee, 'RICE.' If you read on…I explained the meaning. The letter R refers to 'rest,' the letter I refers to 'ice,' C refers to 'compression,' and finally E stands for 'elevation.'" 

Amanda took the slip of paper from Lee's fingers and smiled her thanks as she encouraged Lee to continue forward. "If we stay around too long, Lee, he might change his mind and keep me here," she whispered.

Glancing out the window, now, at his father-in-law, who was wheeling his chair into the house, Lee recalled the final words of Dr. Uric, and he laughed out loud at the thought: "She's spending too much time with that damn Scarecrow and taking up some of his bad habits when it comes to doctors." 

Amanda fluttered her eyelids open at the sound of his laughter, a soft smile etched in her features. She was safe in his arms once again. "Are we home?"

Lee placed his hand under her chin, tilting it up so he could look into her eyes. "Well, not home, but back at the bed and breakfast."

Amanda sighed as she slowly sat up. "Yeah. I guess it's time to go face Mother." She blinked and stretched, grimacing as several aches and pains reminded her of their presence. "I'm not looking forward to that, but…" she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn, "I want to find out what's been going on with our sons."

Lee watched her actions closely, frowning when pain flickered over her face and then quickly hiding a grin at her distorted words as she tried to hide how exhausted her body was. When she looked over at him, he gave her a half smile, understanding completely how she felt about the situation with her mother. "Amanda, we _will_ find Phillip and bring him home."

Amanda tightened her grip on the small bag that contained her son's future. She had not let it out of her possession for more than a minute since she'd left Arlington, which seemed like an eternity ago. "We've got what he wants. It should just be a matter of trading it now. Right?"

Flashing her a broad smile, Lee nodded his response, hoping his Stetson charm might cover up his uneasy feelings. It was never "easy" when it came to Weasel. "Ready to go in?"

Amanda nodded and held her arms out in front of her, stretching her fingers. She was just about to remove herself from her husband's arms and reach for the door handle when he tightened them around her.

"Oh, no, Mrs. Stetson," he said, drawing out his words sternly, "You just wait here. I'll come around and carry you into the house. Remember what Dr. Uric said about the letter E? Elevation!" Lee gave her a "don't even try arguing with me" look.

Amanda opened her mouth to protest but quickly found his strong lips covering hers. 

As he broke the kiss, Lee looked into his wife's eyes, only to find them full of defiance. "Lee, really I'm fine. The N.E.S.T team did a wonderful job bandaging my foot. Besides, you can't be carrying me around twenty-four hours a day."

Lee shook his head. "Just humor me, please. Just this one last time. I almost lost you tonight, and I just want to remind myself that you're really here. Okay?"  


Amanda looked back into her husband's loving eyes. She knew that the events of the last day had really taken its toll on him emotionally. Deciding that she wouldn't mind so much being in his protective arms a little while longer, she nodded. "Okay. But only into the house…and then maybe later up to bed." She smiled, and Lee winked back.

  
"I think that can be arranged. Just stay right there, I'll be around in a jiffy." Removing his arm from around her, he climbed out of the car and quickly walked around to assist his wife out.

Once they had all entered the house, Agent Tompkins approached them. "It's good to see you all back in one piece."

"Well, we wouldn't be if Nighthawk, here, hadn't come to our rescue," Richard replied with a look of gratitude as he glanced at the man in the wheelchair, who was now wheeling himself into the living room.

Lee gently settled Amanda onto the couch and then moved to get a pillow to put under her foot, which she was currently keeping elevated on the coffee table. Amanda nearly laughed at her husband's fussing, but instead sighed and nodded with gratitude at the soft surface and added height. When Nighthawk reached her side, she leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'm so proud of you, Daddy."

Nighthawk patted his daughter's hand and looked around at the others in the front foyer. "No thanks needed. I'm finally feeling alive again, and I have all of you to thank for it. Now, I think we need to try and get some rest. We still have my grandson to save."

"Has there been any contact from Weasel?" Lee asked, moving closer to Tompkins.

Nodding towards the phone, Tompkins replied. "Actually, yes. He called about two hours ago. We got the message on tape. He wanted to talk to you, Scarecrow, but I'm pretty sure I convinced him you were still in town, just not available to take his call."

Amanda's mind snapped back into action at the mention of Weasel making contact, and she swung her foot off the table. Gritting her teeth against the pain that welled up in her foot from her sudden movement, she used the arm of the couch to help push herself up and kept her fingers resting on it once she was on her feet. "Well, what are we standing around here for? I want to hear what that…that man has to say."

Afraid that the armrest provided little support for her, Lee quickly closed the distance between himself and his wife. As he put a protective arm around her waist, he locked eyes with her. "Amanda, maybe it's best if we wait till morning." Knowing that Tompkins had to do some fancy talking, he was afraid the message might not be a pleasant one for Amanda to hear. Leaning forward, he said softly, "I need to help you get cleaned up and tuck you into bed."

Placing her left hand on her hip and poking her right index finger into his chest, she shook her head sternly. "Don't even think about it, Scarecrow. I won't be able to sleep until my baby's back, safe and sound, anyway."

Just then, Dotty appeared at the top of the steps. "I thought I heard voices," she mumbled as she started to rub the sleep from her eyes. As she looked closer at the group at the bottom of the stairs and leading into the living room, her whole body flooded with joy. Running down the stairs, she raced over to Amanda. Lee stepped back to allow his mother-in-law access to her daughter as Dotty wrapped her arms around her. She had already nearly knocked him down once in the past two days, and that was enough for him.

"Oh, thank God you're all right." Pulling back slightly she looked at her daughter's scratched and bruised face, and blood matted hair. "Or are you all right?" Dotty touched her cool fingers to the bandage that covered her head wound and then reached both her hands to her daughter's hair. 

Amanda placed her hands on her mother's shoulder reassuringly. "It's just a nasty cut from the crash. I've been checked out thoroughly, and the doctors say I just need to keep it clean and get some rest."

Shaking her head slowly, Dotty pulled her back into a tight embrace. "I love you, sweetheart. First thing in the morning I'm going to start taking care of you." She paused and lowered her voice, "I feel sure that Lee wouldn't let me tonight even if I begged."

Amanda returned her mother's embrace and looked over her shoulder at the smug expression Lee now held. Narrowing her eyes at him, she whispered in her mother's ear. "You're probably right, Mother."

Now that the hug of reassurance and gladness was out of the way, Dotty's motherly instincts took over. Pulling back from the embrace, she held Amanda's shoulders in her hand, and looked her square in the eyes. "DON'T you ever do that to us again! Do you hear me?"

Amanda guiltily looked around the room. She suddenly felt like she was the little girl who had hidden Debbie Ann Macabie in her attic all those years ago. "Mother…"

  
"Don't 'Mother' me, young lady. You gave us such a fright. Poor Lee," she looked over at her son-in-law-to-be, "having to run off after you like that. I don't know where you get this 'go off on your own and fix things' idea from, but if you plan on making it a habit once every year, I would like a little pre-warning next time. My heart and blood pressure can't take it. Not to mention, it doesn't help to add more worry and despair to an already bad situation."

Then, without taking a breath, she released Amanda's shoulders and turned toward Frank. "And you. What the devil were you thinking, chasing off after them? Were you trying to be some…some hero?" She pointed an accusing finger at him.

Taking a deep breath, she turned, walked over to Lee, and kissed his cheek. "And you. You aren't much better than he is," she nodded her head in Frank's direction then let it drop slightly as though searching for words. "You both should really let these government agents take the risks. That's what they get paid for, you know." She missed the looks that traveled between a number of people in the room, including her daughter and the man before her. "But," she looked Lee in the eye, "thank you for looking out for this family. Now that I know you're all back, safe and sound, I'm going back to bed. I want to be able to hear Jamie if he wakes up and needs me. Goodnight all." She promptly turned on her heels and walked towards the stairs.

Everyone watched, speechless, as Dotty ascended the steps and headed back to her room.

"Good God! I don't think I've ever seen, or heard, anyone say so much in one breath," Richard remarked as soon as Dotty was out of sight.

Lee looked over at his wife and suddenly broke out into laughter. There was certainly no secret as to which side of the family Amanda got her rambling from.

Amanda shot her husband a look. Leaning against the couch to take some weight off her aching foot, she placed her hands on her hips, raised her eyebrows, and asked, "And what, dear husband, is so funny? I don't find Mother scolding any of us like we were ten years old anything to laugh at."

The tone of her voice just made Lee laugh even harder. Holding his side, he walked over, and still laughing, even when she swatted at him, he settled her back onto the couch. As soon as he'd returned her foot to the pillow, he remained leaning over for a moment, one hand braced on the table, the other resting gently on her leg, as he took a calming breath. When her good foot shoved at his calf, he merely shook his head and laughed again.

Tompkins watched the scene between Scarecrow and Mrs. King with renewed interest. His suspicions that Mrs. West's calling Scarecrow her daughter's fiancé was off the mark, that the newly announced engagement was simply a rouse the couple had created for the family to keep their true relationship a secret, had begun when Weasel had called earlier. Mrs. King's calling the great Scarecrow "husband" in front of everyone had just confirmed it. 

Richard walked over to the younger man. "Are you all right?" Lee could only nod. "Do you want to share your joke with everyone else?" he asked, in a slightly amused tone.

Lee straightened and was just about to open his mouth and reply when Nighthawk spoke. "I think I can shed some light on the matter." Moving his wheelchair slightly away from his daughter, he looked toward Richard. "You see, I believe my son-in-law found your statement extremely funny because my daughter, here, has that same gift."

Amanda, fully aware of her reputation for saying the most without taking a breath, decided it was time to defend herself. "Yeah, well, at least it gets the job done. I mean, who's going to willingly interrupt someone when they're too amazed that the person never once took a breath? We know how to keep a person's attention."

Lee's grin faded when she'd started to speak; he'd expected her to get slightly mad. Looking into her eyes, he saw humor and annoyance mixed in them. He knew he'd pay for his fit later, but at least it had gotten their minds off of the current situation for a moment.

"Now, I believe there was some phone message we were just about to listen to." Amanda looked her husband square in the eyes. "Don't think for a minute that I was going to forget about it just because of Mother's little scene." Turning toward Agent Tompkins, she asked, "Now, where is that recording?" Again, she eased her foot to the floor and rose from the couch.

Tompkins glanced briefly at Scarecrow, who was obviously annoyed at his wife's actions, before turning to head towards the room where the recorder was located. The remaining agents in the room followed directly behind him. Amanda placed her left hand in Lee's right without looking at his face. She didn't need to the see the concern for her that was written in his features; she couldn't break down now. Her son needed her.

Placed directly in the center of the dining room table was the black tape recorder that held Weasel's message. Pulling out a chair at the head of the table, Tompkins looked to Amanda to take a seat. 

Amanda gave Lee's hand a soft squeeze before releasing it to take the seat offered her. Lee stood directly behind her with his hands placed on her shoulders. "Let's hear it Tompkins."

__

"White Swan Bed and Breakfast, how may we help you?"

"I'm looking for Mrs. Amanda Stet…King." 

Amanda listened intently as the conversation began and tilted her head back to look at Lee when the unfamiliar, gruff voice responded to the agent who had answered. Squeezing her shoulders as he heard the all-too-familiar voice, he looked into her eyes and, with a nod, whispered, "Weasel." 

__

"I'm sorry. She's not available at the moment, may I take a message?"

"She'd better not be there. Let me speak to Scarecrow!"

"Hold on. I'll see if I can find him for you." 

"This is Tompkins, may I assist you?" 

"No, damn it! I demand to speak to Agent Scarecrow." 

"I'm sorry, but Scarecrow isn't available at the moment. He's currently pre-occupied and cannot be disturbed." 

"Well as soon as you see the 'Great' Scarecrow, pass this message along to him. He should keep his nose out of my way, or else his stepson will pay the ultimate price."

Feeling Amanda's body tremble with each word Weasel spoke, Lee's trained emotional indifference went out the door as he glared over at Frank. Frank's eyes locked with Lee's momentarily before he turned his head to look closely at his daughter's face. Her usually sparkling eyes were discolored with red streaks of exhaustion, and just beneath her long lashes were deep, dark circles. Her flawless skin was frighteningly transparent and covered with scratches from run-ins with branches in the dark, and who knew what else. And it was obvious that the N.E.S.T team had been in a hurry because she was still smudged with dirt from the forest, and blood from herself, as well as from her abductor. 

His own rage surfacing, he slammed his fist against the hardwood of the table. "Damn it! Don't you people have anymore leads than this? My daughter just risked her life to retrieve that damn list and this is all you have…some fucking tape!"

Amanda placed her hand over Lee's, giving it a gentle pat before standing to hobble over and sit by her father. Frank's elbows rested on the table with his head in his hands. "Daddy."

Frank looked up at the tears beginning to well up in Amanda's eyes. Reaching out with his arms he pulled her close to him. "I'm sorry, baby. I guess this old fart just blew his top."

Amanda hugged him with all the strength she had in her. "It's okay, Daddy. We're all exhausted."

Pulling back from his daughter, he caught Tompkins's eye. "Sorry about that."

Tompkins nodded his understanding and turned his head to look at Lee. Swallowing his reluctance, he went over to sit by Amanda. "Well, you did retrieve the list. We could have the people on that list put—"

Flinging his arms in the air, Lee began to pace behind Amanda. "You might as well issue a death warrant for Phillip! Just as soon as one of Weasel's goons gets a whiff of a Fed, that son-of-a-bitch will kill him for sure."

Lee stopped his tirade on the floor as he heard the sudden gasp in front of him. Quickly rushing over to his wife's side, he knelt down and took her hands in his. "I'm sorry, Amanda." He bowed his head as he continued, "I'm so, so sorry. I just lost my temper. I didn't mean to say that."

The physical and mental attack on her body for the past forty-eight hours exploded as both Tompkins's and Lee's words penetrated her brain. Tears began to fall down her cheeks as she jerked her hands from Lee's grasp and stood, leaning heavily on the back of the chair. "I'll be damned if anybody is going to put my boy in any more danger than he's already in. I didn't risk my life going back to Arlington just to return and cheerfully…no 'dutifully' hand this list over to the government and then sit and wait to see what happens. I want my SON! If you won't help me, I'll leave, again, and, by God, I'll get the job done myself!"

Frank's mouth fell open at the anger that flowed from his daughter's mouth. Her eyes were glazed as she left the table and began to limp towards Tompkins. 

Lee stepped in front of her and gently placing his hands on her arms, trying to calm her. "Amanda, it isn't going to happen that way. You've got the list, and I promise I won't let them have it _until_ we get Phillip back."

Amanda twisted free from his light grip and continued towards Tompkins. "I'm not going to stand by and watch this bunch of glory hunters risk my son's life. There has to be more you could've been doing than just sitting around here on your asses waiting for me to get back with that damn list!"

Shaking his head, Richard pushed himself off of the doorframe he had been leaning on while listening to the tape. 'You'd think a seasoned agent would know better than to piss off a mother.' As he approached Amanda, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the men her anger had turned on. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he turned her to face him. "Amanda, do you think that after everything Lee and I went through to get you back, that I would let my unit destroy what chance we have of getting Phillip back?"

Amanda hesitated as she looked into the eyes of the man who had not only saved her life, but Lee's as well. A small smile of thanks crossed her lips, and she looked over Richard's shoulder at Lee. A frown returned to her features as she noticed Lee's eyes narrowing at Tompkins. 

Tompkins had taken this opportunity to motion the N.E.S.T doctor into the room. Although he sympathized to some degree, he had had enough of the women in Lee Stetson's family for one day. Nodding his head towards the doctor, Tompkins looked at Lee. "Maybe you should let him give her a sedative before she comes completely unglued. I had thought that her mother was bad, but—"

Before Lee could respond Amanda snapped her head back to face the man who had spoken the words. Her own words were low and angry as she stood only inches from his face. "First of all, you had better not bring my mother into this. She has nothing to do with _your_ stupidity. Second…you think _I'm_ coming unglued?" She paused, feeling her husband walking towards her, and took a breath. "Tell me something, Agent Tompkins. Do you have a family? Do you have children?"

Lee had seen the hypodermic in the doctor's hand as he stepped forward at Tompkins's signal. Lee immediately moved to put himself between the man and his wife. He knew that Amanda was venting pent-up anger and Tompkins had merely become any easy target the minute he had uttered his poorly-chosen words. 

Berating himself for his own input into the bad situation, he held out his hand in front of the doctor. She would "wind down" soon enough and probably collapse from exhaustion; she didn't need any drugs to help her do that. Giving the doctor a tight-lipped smile, Lee took the syringe from his hand and handed it to Richard. "I'll let you know if we need you, doctor." Lee acknowledged to himself that if she needed to do any more venting, he would shoulder the responsibility. 

Tompkins momentarily looked at the exchange between Lee and the doctor before shaking his head shamefully at Amanda's penetrating gaze. Amanda turned her head in disgust as she went to stand by her husband. "I didn't think so." Giving her husband an appreciative smile, she turned her narrowed eyes back to the regretful agent. "Maybe someday you will." Moving to stand beside the one solid foundation in her life at the moment, Amanda placed her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry, Lee."

Lee enfolded her deeply into his embrace, tucking her head under his chin. "Don't worry about it, Amanda." He rubbed his hand soothingly over her back. "You didn't say anything that I wouldn't have."

Frank rolled his chair over to join the small group that had formed. "So, what's next, Fire?"

Richard shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly walked over to the table. Taking his right hand out, he picked up a bulky folder. "They got Jamie's pictures developed while we were gone."

A slight gasp left Amanda's lips as she looked up into Lee's loving eyes. "Oh, my gosh. Jamie!" She tried to pull away. "I need to go check on him."

Lee tightened his hold on her. "He's fine, Amanda." Kissing her cheek, he opened his embrace and, giving her his arm to lean on, began leading her toward the table where Richard stood. "You're mother is right next door to him, and we can go and check on him in a few minutes."

Giving Lee's arm a tight squeeze, she followed his lead with her eyes focused on Richard. "Did they show anything?"

Lee pulled the chair out beside Richard and coaxed Amanda to sit. Taking the file from Richard's hand, he placed it on the table in front of him and took a seat. Frank wheeled his chair next to him, as Lee's trembling fingers opened the cover. 

The first few were of couples walking up and down the sidewalk, and a few were of kids on skateboards. The next was of a pretty girl smiling towards the camera. Lee stopped turning the pages and turned to look at Amanda. "Seems another of your boys has found an interest in the female gender."

Rolling her eyes at his attempt to take her thoughts away from their task, Amanda placed her head on his shoulder. 

As Lee continued to flip the pages, Frank placed his hand on one of the pictures to stop him from continuing. "Weasel."

Tompkins had moved to stand behind the trio as they flipped through the pages. "Yes. There's another picture of the back of the van that showed us the license plate quite well."

Lee knew the man behind him was a highly-trained agent. Thompson had been doing this job longer than most of the people in the room. 'He must be exhausted,' Lee rationalized to himself that the fatigue caused by the events of the past few days was the reason for his sudden lack of knowledge and judgment. 

Glancing over his shoulder at Richard, Lee raised his eyebrows. "And?"

Tompkins cleared his throat as he handed Richard a copy of the report. "The van was stolen. It belonged to a retired vet. His body was found in his home this…yesterday afternoon."

Amanda's eyes remained transfixed on the photo of Weasel. His name certainly fit the man in the picture. She could not pull herself away from looking at his eyes. Even in the photo she could see the deceit…the evil in them. Hearing Tompkins news of another death only made her dread for her son grow stronger. 

Lee was beginning to regret each question he asked as he looked over at his wife. She had been through too much today to be dealing with this now. With Tompkins's last words, her face became, if possible, paler, and her eyes more withdrawn. "Amanda, why don't we stop this for tonight. It'll be daylight soon. We should try and get some rest so we can think straight."

Dropping the report to the table, Richard verbalized his agreement. "Lee's right. Looks like we've already sent a forensics team out to the man's house to look for any evidence that might lead us to Weasel. I feel sure we'll hear from the bastard in the morning, anyway."

Frank rolled his chair back from the table and headed towards the door. "Sounds like a plan. I'm going to head out to the front porch for a little fresh air. I'll see you guys in the morning."

Richard stepped behind Frank and placed his hands on his wheelchair. "Ya know, you really shouldn't be outside. We're on 'lock down' status."

A throaty laugh came from the man in the wheelchair as he turned his head back to look at Richard then Lee and, finally, Amanda. "I don't think your operation 'lock down' is working too well." Looking down at his watch, he turned his attention back to the grinning man behind him. "Besides, I'm sure your nicotine level is at an all-time low and you're in need of a cigarette right about now. Why don't you join me?"

Richard glanced back at Lee with a smile full of mischief. "I guess I could take a break. I'm pretty sure there aren't any gas tanks outside on the porch, are there?"

A rumbling laugh came from Lee as he stood to help Amanda to her feet. "I suggest you take a look around before you light up, Fire."

Confusion filled the faces of the rest of the group as Richard helped Frank out of the room. Amanda leaned into her husband's strength as they followed the two men. "What was all that about?"

Lee pulled her closer as they headed towards the steps. "It's a long story. Why don't we go up and check on Jamie then get you into a hot bath." He stopped suddenly and scooped her up into his arms. Though she didn't protest, which told him how exhausted she truly was, he whispered, "One last time."

Amanda nodded against his neck as they ascended the steps to their quarters. Once she let her eyes close, she found she had no desire to open them again for long time. She was content with losing herself in Lee's strength and warmth and realized how much she wanted to fall asleep in his arms. For the few short hours they had before dawn, she wasn't going to let her worries over who saw what, bother her. 

Chapter 17

Kneeling beside her son's bed, Amanda's heart felt as if it would break at the sight of his tear-stained face. Lee stood quietly behind her, watching as she pulled the covers closer to his neck. Leaning in towards Jamie's face, she placed a feather-soft kiss on his moist cheek. 

Lee held out his hands to help her up when she started to use the side of the mattress to support herself. Glancing, again, at her son, she noticed the edge of what appeared to be a small picture tucked beneath his pillow. Gently easing the item from its hiding place, she held it up in the light from the moon outside. A loving smile crossed her features as she looked up at her husband. 

The unique tingle that Amanda's love for him always caused entered his body as he looked at the simple picture she held in her shaking hands. The moonlight made the images on the photo clearly visible. It was different than the one he had seen the night before of their family. That one had contained Joe. This one was a picture of Phillip, Dotty, Kurt, Amanda, and himself the morning before they'd taken Dotty to see Nighthawk.

He didn't remember Jamie taking the picture, but it captured a happy moment. Naturally, Phillip had the hood of Kurt's rented Caddie open, inspecting its capabilities. Kurt was leaning under the hood with him to protect his interests as Dotty leaned over his shoulder with her hands wrapped around Kurt's waist. He and Amanda stood to the side, wrapped in each other's arms, watching the scene before them.

Lee gently took the picture from her hands and carefully slid it back under Jamie's pillow. He stood still for a few moments as he watched the even breathing of his stepson. Looking at the young life before him, he couldn't imagine what his life would have been like if he hadn't been brave enough to take that first step with Amanda. His life was so complete now that he had a family of his own. The only thing left to do was get Phillip back, and the world would be right again.

Glancing up at Amanda's soft smile, Lee softly touched Jamie's hair with his fingertips. Jamie stirred slightly under his touch, and Lee quickly withdrew his hand. 

Amanda hadn't thought her heart could love the man before her more than it already did, but after seeing the look in Lee's eyes as he looked at her son, her heart almost overflowed. His eyes didn't hold the look of a man looking at a child that came as part of a package deal; instead, his eyes held love, and just a touch of wonder. Amanda had known that he loved her children, but at that moment she knew that they were not just her sons anymore, but his as well.

Lee turned to find her watching him with an expression he couldn't quite grasp. Her exhaustion was extremely obvious, both in the tightness of her face and the overall depression of her physical appearance. The tears that glistened in her soft brown eyes, he assumed at first glance, were probably brought on by thoughts of her other son out there alone and frightened. But, as he looked closer, he noticed an intensity in her gaze that made him frown slightly. 

Amanda saw the look of confusion on his face and gave him a reassuring smile. Mouthing "I love you," she took his hand tightly in hers and began to lead him slowly out of the room. 

As they reached the doorway, they heard a small voice come from behind. "Mom?"

They turned to see Jamie sitting up in bed, rubbing his eyes.

Amanda smiled and, taking a deep breath, released Lee's hand. Forcing strength and grace into her step, she crossed the room towards her son. "Hi, sweetheart," she whispered as she reached the bed. Sitting down, she took her son's hand in her right.

"You're all right?" Jamie asked in a quiet, but unsure voice. He looked behind her and saw Lee standing next to his bedside.

Leaning over, she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Yes, sweetheart, I am." 

Jamie's eyes were adjusting to the dimly lit room. Once his mom had pulled away, he noticed the bandage around her head. Reaching up with his other hand, he gently touched the white gauze. "Are you sure?"

Amanda nodded, and with her left hand, took his other hand in hers. "It's just a small bump. The doctor's put the bandage on it to keep the scratch clean. Now, go back to sleep, and I'll see you in the morning. Okay?"

Jamie yawned, removed his hands from his mother's grasp, and pulled her into a tight embrace. Looking over at Lee, he whispered, "I'm glad you're home safe too, Lee."

Lee felt his heart swell. How this one woman's family had changed him; he'd never have believed three years ago. Taking a step closer, he put his hand on his stepson's head and tousled his hair. "Me too, chief. Me too." Lee moved his hand down, and took Jamie's hand in his. Giving it a quick squeeze, he let go and put his hand in his pants pocket. When Jamie pulled slowly out his mother's embrace, another yawn escaped his lips, and Lee couldn't help but smile. "Why don't you get some rest? I don't know about your mother, but I'm beat." 

Jamie nodded and slid back down under the covers, resting his head on his pillow.  
  
Amanda tucked him in and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight, sweetheart." Rising, she took her husband's hand and, once again, headed for the door.

  
"Goodnight, Mom...Lee," Jamie responded. "I love you, both."

"We love you, too," Amanda and Lee said in unison as Lee quietly shut the door. Amanda turned to her husband, new tears welling up in her eyes. She had never heard Lee tell either of the boys he loved them before. If her heart had been overflowing earlier, now it was ready to burst.

Amanda swayed slightly as she watched him wipe moisture from his eyes before turning to face her. Seeing her unsteady movements, he swept her off her feet and proceeded to carry her toward her bedroom just down the hall. Not a single word of protest left her lips as she felt the reassuring arms pulling her closer to his body. Wrapping her own arms around his neck, she snuggled her face into the hollow under his chin.

A soft chuckle rumbled in his chest as he felt her body go limp before they had reached the room. Entering, he walked over and carefully placed her sleeping form onto the king-size bed. Allowing the worry wrinkles to increase in his forehead as he noticed her disheveled appearance, he gently sat down beside her. As he touched his fingers to the bandage that wrapped her head, he grimaced at the sight of blood beginning to seep through. "Amanda."

Unconsciously, she moved her head to rest in his right palm as she pressed closer to him. Leaning over, he touched his lips lightly to her cheek. "Amanda," he said quietly, his breath stirring a few whispy curls, "I'm going to run some bath water." He straightened slowly, reaching out to caress her jaw with his left thumb. "I hate to wake you up, but if you don't soak in hot water and let me change your dressing, you're going to be as stiff as a board in a few hours."

Amanda heard his words and felt his touch through her dazed state. Groaning she tried to sit up, but Lee's gentle but firm hands her shoulder stopped her efforts. As if from a distance she heard his deep, husky voice, "No. You stay here. I'll be right back to get you and help you undress." Making a soft sound of agreement, she nodded weakly and then smiled when she felt him place a swift kiss on the end of her nose. She moved slightly when she felt the bed move as he stood to head towards the bathroom. 

While waiting for the tub to fill with water, Lee looked at himself in the medicine cabinet mirror, which was rapidly fogging up from the steam of the heated bath water. His eyes narrowed as he studied the reflection of the man that Amanda depended upon to bring her son home. A sudden flash of regret swept through him as he remembered what this weekend was supposed to have been. He had been consumed with the love and contentment that her family brought, but was he being selfish? 

'Perhaps, we shouldn't have announced our engagement to the family. What if I just bring them more pain by being a permanent fixture in their lives?' He clenched his jaw and gripped the edge of the sink with white-knuckled fierceness 'If I hadn't gotten Amanda involved in this damn Agency to start with, her family wouldn't be in this mess.'

Amanda stood silently outside the bathroom door as she watched her husband torture himself over the events of the past few days. She watched as he clenched his fist and brought it down hard against the marble of the antique sink. 

Bringing both hands to his face, Lee tried to rub the exhaustion and nightmares from his mind. As he turned on the cold water, he placed his hand on the steam-covered mirror and wiped a steak across it to see himself once again. "Damn you, Stetson. You should have left her alone!"

Amanda shrank back around the corner of the door and rested against the wall. She had seen him this way on a number of occasions after her abduction by Addi Birol, and though it made her heart ache, she knew he just needed time alone to vent his anger and frustration. Taking a silent deep breath, she limped slowly back to the bed and began to remove her shoe. Thinking back to all the other cases she had been on with him where her life had been endangered, she realized that this particular brand of mental self-abuse, had probably occurred more often than she'd been a witness to. 

Lee splashed the cool water against his face, feeling it take affect on his senses. 'You didn't leave her alone because you can't live without her.' Looking one last time at his image, he turned his attention to the water nearing the edge of the tub. Turning the water off, he left the bathroom and headed over to the bed to assist his wife. 

A soft smile replaced his grim expression as he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed, tugging unsuccessfully at the zipper of the warm-up jacket she now wore, trying desperately to remove it. "Want some help?" Seeing Amanda's tired, but grateful smile and nod, he made the few strides needed to reach her. Sighing with the relief he continued to feel at having her back safely in his presence, he deftly pulled the zipper down to reveal her creamy skin beneath. His relief was short-lived, replaced by white-hot fury when the bruises that had begun to envelop her body came into view. "Oh, Amanda," he finally managed to choke out.

Amanda placed her cool hand on his cheek as she looked into his horrified eyes. "I'm all right, sweetheart."

Lee tried to return his facial features to the softness they had only moments before. Taking her hand, he helped her stand and, making sure she was steady on her feet, unbuttoned her jeans. The pants, borrowed from the N.E.S.T. team, and a touch on the large side for her small frame, fell into a heap at her feet, unnoticed, as the two held complete eye contact with one another. Amanda broke the contact when she felt a small wave of dizziness threaten her balance, and she eased her way back down onto the bed

When she began to tug weakly at the bottom of her jeans, trying to pull them over her feet, Lee knelt before her and completed the task. His eyes moved from her face to her legs, and he felt the cold, greasy hand of nausea wrap around his stomach at the sight of the bruises that covered her legs and inner thighs. Thoughts of another man coming so close to touching her…to… He closed his eyes against the image of violence, unable to speak the words, even to himself. Almost as quickly, he opened them and focused on her bandaged foot as he began to unravel the Ace bandage, he kept his eyes averted from his wife's face.

Amanda gently took his head into her hands and titled it to up to look at her. "I'm fine, Lee. I know what you're thinking, and what you're putting yourself through. I wouldn't change a thing in my life. I'm glad I was the one you choose that day at the train station. I'm glad you continued to call me to work with you. I'm glad that we became best friends." She watched her fingers move against his skin, "I'm glad that we fell in love. I'm honored to be your wife. I thank God everyday that he blessed me with you. I wouldn't change any of that." She locked eyes with him. "Not for anything in the world."

Shaking his head free from her grasp, he stood and began to pace before the bed. "None of your family would be here, in this mess right now, if I had left you alone."

Amanda sighed as she pushed herself off the bed, catching his arm as he walked by for support. "True." Lee's eyes opened with shock at her unexpected words as he stopped, careful not to over balance her. Amanda smiled reassuringly as she took his hands in hers. "We could be dead." A shudder went through Lee at the thought of losing her. Amanda continued her tight grasp and continued, "It would have happened even if I didn't know you. Weasel would have returned to seek revenge upon my father and search for the list. My family, including myself, could be dead right now if you weren't in my life."

Lee brought his eyes up to meet her eyes. They were filled with such intense and passionate love that his own knees threatened to fail him. "Thank you for loving me, Amanda Stetson."

Amanda buried her head in his shoulder as he swept her off her feet and headed for the bathroom. "Thank you, for loving us," she whispered.

Lee gently kissed her cheek and then assisted her out of her existing clothing and into the warm, cleansing water. He watched as she closed her eyes and breathed the fresh floral scent of the bubbles into her lungs, noting the moment her body began to relax. After a moment, he removed her head bandage and began to gently wash the blood and dirt from her hair. Ensuring the area was clean, he made sure her skin and hair were dry before placing clean white gauze over the wound. Once he had finished with that, he moved down to the other end of the tub and delicately took her injured foot out of the water. 

Amanda watched as he washed it and then propped it up on the side of the tub with a towel underneath. She realized that he had done all of this without speaking a word, only his touch and eyes telling her of his love. Lee saw her watching him and paused to place a soft, kiss on her nose. She smiled up at him and was surprised when he placed another, more yearning, kiss on her lips and then abruptly left the room. 

Poking his head back in the doorway, Lee took in the precious features of her face, and whispered, "Call me when you're ready to get out." Winking, he left her alone to soak in the tub.

After only ten minutes, Amanda could feel her body threatening sleep and softly called out for him. Lee was quickly by her side, now dressed only in jogging pants. Reaching into the now-cooling water, he lifted her slight form and held her closely to his bare chest. The water from her body clung to his muscles as he carried her to the bed. Placing her on the towel he had brought out earlier and spread on the mattress, he wrapped another around her shoulders. 

Amanda remained quiet as he proceeded to slowly dry her body with a third towel. The feelings that jolted through her senses were not unfamiliar to her; his touch always ignited white fire through her body. She gently reached out to touch his unshaven face when his hands, engulfed in the soft towel, reached her breast. Taking her hand in his, he placed a delicate kiss to the inside of her palm before continuing his task. 

His eyes were filled with his own longing, but he held himself in check, knowing that she was too weak to play out what they both wanted. There would be time for them to fulfill each other's desires after this nightmare had ended. Satisfied that she was dry, he rose and went to the other side of the bed. Looking lovingly at his wife, he pulled down the covers and then quickly returned to her side and lifted her into his arms. 

As soon as he set her down on the crisp sheets, she pulled his head down to capture his lips with her own. Within seconds their lips joined in a frenzy of intense need. Lee regretfully pulled away as he felt his control slipping. "We have an eternity to make love together. You need your rest now."

Amanda grasped his fingers as he pulled away from placing a simple kiss to her forehead. "Eternity."

Still holding her hand, he remained by her side until her eyelids drifted closed and the even sound of her breathing assured him that she was asleep. Feeling the chill of the fast-approaching winter that was beginning to seep through the walls, he stood and went to rekindle fire in the fireplace. 

Crouching before the small blaze, he felt the heat begin to sink into his body. His hazel eyes reflected the flickers of the flames as they grew from his addition of more wood. Glancing back towards the bed, a feeling of anger matched the intense flickering before him. Amanda had been right about Weasel coming after her family someday. Perhaps it wouldn't have been now, or even next week, next year, or five years from now, but he would have eventually come. Nodding slightly, he acknowledged that had he not been a part of her life, Weasel probably would have killed the family to get what he desired. 

Throwing the last piece of wood into the crackling fire, he began to feel the grit and grime that covered his own body. He headed towards the bathroom to wash away the dirt of the day and, hopefully clear his mind of vivid, horrific images of his family's death, if only for a few minutes. 

Amanda twisted in her sleep as her senses tuned in the smell of wood burning. Her eyes locked with the madman before her, seeing the promise of what was soon to come. His meaty hands jerked her clothes from her, and his eyes savored the flesh before him. His hot breath touched her breasts as he drew nearer in anticipation of his ultimate prize. "NO! Oh, God, NO! Please, don't touch me!"

Lee's hand jerked at the sound of terrified screams coming from his wife. Dropping the razor from his hand, he bolted into the bedroom and to her side, finding a sight that ripped at his soul. Her arms flailed wildly at the invisible man before her. Her head thrashed against her pillow, loosening the bandage around her head he had secured, not long before. Her legs kicked at the covers as if they were a weight that pinned her down as she cried out for freedom. 

Quickly pulling her into his embrace, ignoring the pounding she continued against his chest, he tried to bring her from her nightmare. "Amanda, honey. It's Lee. I'm here. Wake up!"

Amanda's eyes flashed open at the sound of his deep voice, but her mind was still lost in her dream. "Please, don't touch me!"

Lee tightened his grip around her as her panicked eyes pleaded with him. "Amanda! It's me!" Seeing no response in her eyes, he shook her lightly. "Come on, baby. Wake up!"

Though her breathing was still ragged and her arms remained rigid, her eyes began to focus on the man before her. Her body went suddenly limp against him, and her head fell forward to rest securely against his chest as he whispered comforting words into her hair. His soul burned in torment as he heard her muffled cries. "It's okay, honey. It's okay." He tightened his embrace. "You're safe, now."

Amanda's body began to shake violently as the smell of burning wood again drifted to her senses. "The smoke…he built a fire…I thought it was you…we were home…his eyes."

Glancing at the crackling wood that burned heavily in the fireplace, Lee cursed himself for lighting the fire. His mind went back to the tent when he had pulled Simon out into the returning rain, and the smell of the smoldering fire returned to his own senses. 

Gently rocking her in his arms, he continued to murmur soft words of reassurance that he was there now and he would protect her. He stroked her hair until he no longer heard her soft sobbing. Gently easing her sleeping body back to the bed, he stood to go and extinguish the fire. 

Taking the small fireplace shovel, he placed burned ashes over the raging fire until it smothered itself. He then stood and headed to the bathroom to wipe off his face and turn off the main light. Returning to the bed, he pulled her soft body tightly against his rigid one and let sleep begin to take over. His last thoughts were that Simon Olson was a lucky man to have died so quickly. If he were still alive, he would have made his last breaths a living hell. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda squinted her eyes against the rude morning light that poured through the window. The excited voice of her son, Jamie, drifted to her ears as she heard him exclaim to Dotty that his mother was back. She heard her mother scolding him, telling him to be quiet and not to wake his mother, that she needed her rest. A smile of happiness at the familiar sounds of her family found its way to her face. 

Gently rolling in her husband's embrace, she turned to face him. "Good morning."

Lee opened his hazel eyes and immediately absorbed some of the joy that emanated from her body. "Good morning, beautiful. How do you feel?"

Amanda's lips tightened as she stretched her arms out above her head then proceeded to stretch her legs. She enjoyed the feel of his hard body as she moved against him. "Sore."

Relishing in her familiar cat-like actions, he steeled himself against his body's equally familiar response. He reluctantly released his grip from her waist, and brought his hand up to touch the bandage around her head that she had loosened only hours before. "How about your head?"

Amanda placed her hand over his exploring fingers. "Sore."

A soft chuckle rumbled in Lee's chest as he sat up in bed, swinging his legs over the side. "I guess, I need to get up and going." He could only resist the urge to take pleasure in his wife for just so long, before giving in.

Amanda wiggled her body across the bed so that the skin of her upper body rested against his back. "I heard Jamie this morning."

Lee turned his head back to look at her smiling face. "Going to eat, I presume."

Amanda swatted his back playfully as she sat up, allowing the covers to fall to her waist. Stretching her arms above her head, she heard a soft moan come from her husband's mouth as he pulled her close and rested his head between her breasts. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting her cheek against the top of his head, and her hands began to massage the tense muscles in his back. 

His soft, warm breath caressed the skin of her right breast as he wrapped his arms around her waist. His voice was hushed, almost a whisper as he began to kiss the area his breath had just been. "How I wish we could stay like this forever."

Amanda smiled into his hair as she continued to work her magic on his muscles. Closing her eyes to the awakening feelings he was causing, she began to lean back into the soft comforts of the bed. She needed to feel him, have him possess her body and soul. To take the memory of Simon Olson from her mind and replace it with his tender lovemaking.

A loud knock on the door and a booming voice brought the couple back to harsh reality quickly. "Scarecrow!" 

Lee slowly brought his longing eyes to meet his wife's. "Real life, huh?"

A soft giggle escaped her lips as she playfully pushed him away. "Afraid so, Scarecrow."

Another demanding knock brought curses to Lee's lips as he jumped from the bed. Ignoring the fact that he was only wearing jogging pants, he raked his left hand through his disheveled hair as he swung the door open and stepped into the hallway. "What!"

Richard stifled a grin at the flushed face that loomed before him. Clearing his throat, he glanced around Lee's overpowering form to see that Amanda still lay in the bed facing the door, eyes wide and covers pulled up to her chin. "Didn't interrupt anything—"

Waving his hands before the man, Lee growled through clenched teeth. "What in the hell do you want anyway?" Watching Richard wave to Amanda, Lee moved slightly to his left, effectively obstructing Richard's view into the room. 

Shrugging his shoulders, Richard placed a winning smile on his face. "Figured you'd want to get an early start." Chuckling, he pivoted and headed back towards the staircase.

Lee nodded his agreement at the energetic man, then turned to enter the room. "Glad to see you've had your coffee this morning."

A robust laugh filled the stairwell as Richard called back up the steps. "Two pots!"

As Lee shut the door, he noticed that Amanda had slipped from the bed, using one of the sheets as cover, and entered the bathroom. Deciding he needed proper attire for the day's events, he tapped lightly on the bathroom door. "Are you okay?"

Amanda tried to cover the pain she felt as the soreness kicked into full swing with a cheerful voice. "Just fine. I'm changing."

The crack in her voice did not go unnoticed by the Agency's finest. "I'm heading down to my room to change. I'll be back here in a few minutes to help you downstairs. Just take it slow." He smiled at the thought of the look she was giving him through the closed door, and chuckling to himself, he headed for the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaning against her husband, Amanda stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched the busy activity surrounding them. Her eyes searched for her son, but she was unable to see him. "Richard, where's Jamie?"

Richard smiled warmly at the couple that had finally left the safety of their cocoon. "I sent him, your mother, and Kurt to the marina."

Lee's body immediately tensed at the revelation, and he raised his voice. "What the hell?"

Richard immediately went to Amanda's side to assist her when he saw Lee starting towards him. "I sent four agents with them. I'm sending them out on a boat. I figured it'd be a safe place to keep them today. I feel sure all hell is going to break loose, and I didn't think you would want the rest of your family in the middle of it."

Lee's temper eased at the quick explanation. "Sorry, Fire. I'm a little edgy today. Thanks."

Amanda smiled her thanks as the two men assisted her into the living room and settled her back on the couch, propping her re-wrapped foot up on the pillow Lee had fixed for her when they had first returned to the White Swan. Her eyes focused on the surrounding men in search of her father. "Where's my father?"

Richard rolled his eyes at the mention of Nighthawk. "That old fart is off doing some 'investigating' of his own. I sent Tom and Jerry with him." Lee held a questioning look. "They got back an hour ago, assuring me that Simon's body was under lock and key at a morgue in White Plains." He laughed at the memory of the three men leaving. "Believe me, I got a few hateful looks as they proceeded out the door. I don't think those two get along well with their new companion."

Lee began to ask for the latest update when the shrill ring of the phone brought the entire room to silence. Lee's hand hovered over the receiver until he got a nod from the man in charge of the recording. Picking up the phone, he gave Amanda a reassuring smile. "Stetson."

"About damn time you picked up the phone, Scarecrow."

Lee watched Amanda's eyes dim as she watched his reaction to the call. "Where's Phillip?"

"I want that damn list now!"

Lee stood silent for a moment to collect his building rage. He realized he had to choose his words carefully, as he didn't want to let Weasel know Amanda was back and Simon was dead, if his enemy didn't already know. "I want Phillip."

"Nice try. You don't get your son until I get that list. I don't suppose you've heard any news from your pretty wife, have you?"

Lee's suspicions were confirmed. Weasel hadn't heard anything. Deciding it was best to lie, he let a hint of concern show in his voice. "Why do you ask, Weasel? What's it to you?"

"Oops, sorry. Gotta run. Our time for chatting has run out. Can't stay on here too long and let you trace the call. Now can I?"

Lee looked over anxiously at the man who was tracing the call when he heard the dial tone. "Sorry, Scarecrow. Twenty seconds short."

Lee looked at his wife's pale features then back to Tompkins, who now hovered over the man in charge of recording the conversation. "Play it back. Maybe, there's something we can use."

Tompkins nodded, keeping his eyes averted from Stetson's partner. He had no intentions of rekindling the argument that had started between them the night before. As the words played into an empty room, Amanda locked eyes with Lee. "Did you hear that?"

Lee's eyebrows furrowed at his wife as she walked over to join her on the couch. "What?"

Amanda pointed to the clock above the mantel as she listed to the tape. "That. It's the town clock striking eight."

Lee listened a few more seconds before agreeing. "Yeah. At least now we know he has Phillip in town. Now, if we could just narrow it down to—"

The slamming of the front door brought all eyes in the room to the man in the wheelchair. "Don't need to do any narrowing down. I've got the bastard."

Lee jumped to his feet and went to look at the paper Frank extended to him. Amanda gingerly placed her foot on the floor and followed. "What is it, Daddy?"

Lee began to pat Frank on the back as he looked up at his wife. "How did you pull this off?"

Frank raised his eyebrows as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I pulled in a few favors." Turning his eyes back to Amanda, he continued, "Turns out that a number of parking tickets were turned in at the station house that clearly indicated the plates of the van Weasel stole. When they found out the original owner was a retired vet and recently murdered, they were more than happy to let me see the information. The van has been illegally parked in front of a fire hydrant on Eleventh Street for the last twenty-four hours. The hydrant just happens to be right in front of an abandoned warehouse." He saw the fire of excitement burn in his daughter's eyes. "They were about to tow it, but I convinced them to leave it where it was. I didn't want him to get the urge to run."

Richard walked over and grabbed a map of the town from the front desk. After reviewing it for a few minutes, he looked up and turned his attention to the agents in the room. "We'll need to be careful. We don't know how many men Weasel has working for him. Carl, Lewis, you two will scan this end of the street." Looking up from the map, he searched for Tompkins. Catching the man's eye, he motioned Tompkins over and pointed to the other side of the neighborhood. "Tompkins, you and I will search this side. Scarecrow," he paused, catching the seasoned agent's attention, "you can take any of the other men and search the middle--"

"Excuse me?!" Amanda broke in. She made sure her movements showed no sign of pain from her ankle. "If memory serves me right, I am Scarecrow's partner. He won't be going searching for _my_ son without me."

Lee left Nighthawk's side and walked over to her. He had to try and make his wife understand the seriousness of the situation. "You are not going, Amanda, and that is final. You need to stay off your foot. You're in no shape to hunt down this mad man. If I need to call Billy and have him order you to stay, I will. I'll even call the good doctor in here, right now and have him--"

"Don't even think about it, Stetson." She pressed a finger decidedly into his chest. "_I_ am your partner, and that is _my_ son Weasel has." Realizing the full impact her earlier words had, and what her next ones would mean, she suddenly dropped her angry tone and continued in a quieter voice, "Besides, you may need me as 'bait.' Or at most, I need to be there when it's all over to comfort our son."

Lee knew it was going to be hard to convince her, even if her reasons were valid. He wanted her out of the line of fire and didn't want to have to worry about her. "Amanda…"

"This is not open for debate, Lee," she interjected, before he could protest any further. "If you don't take me, I'll evade the 'good doctor' and the rest of these freshman agents and follow you, anyway. I know where the area is." Seeing the look of defeat in Lee's eyes, she smiled. Turning, she headed toward the door. "I'm going to head upstairs and grab a few things. I'll meet you," she looked directly at her husband, "in the car."

Richard looked at Lee once Amanda had left the room. "She's one stubborn lady, isn't she?"

  
Nodding, Lee's eyes never wavered from the obstinate form of his wife as she climbed the stairs. He knew that she was suffering from her injuries, but damned if she was going to let anyone know it. As she reached the top of the steps, he turned his sharp eyes to look at the agents busying themselves with the preparations for the full-scale manhunt. His ears burned at the hauntingly familiar sound of his comrades loading their guns before going into battle, while his thoughts remained focused on the job to come. 

His eyes, once again, returned to the stairs where his wife had just ascended. The years of his Agency training had brought him the instincts needed to know when the shit was going to hit the fan. Raking his left hand through his hair, he began to feel the hair on the back of his neck rise. Feeling a penetrating gaze at his back, he turned around to face Nighthawk.

A grim smile etched the older man features. "I have the same gut feeling, Lee."

Sighing, Lee began to walk towards the extra supply of weaponry that was being laid out on the dining room table. Nighthawk followed the bleak young agent as he, too, tried to shake the unnerving feelings that had overtaken him. Lee's hazel eyes scanned the display of weaponry before him. Searching the table for the extra ammunition he would need, he spoke over his shoulder to Nighthawk. "Looks like a damn buffet, don't it?"

The tips of Nighthawk's aging fingers gently glided over the butt of a Colt .45 before he turned his eyes up to his son-in-law. "It's not going to be pretty, son."

Lee suppressed the shiver that threatened to control his body and immediately released his emotional connections to the case. "This is going to be bad, Nighthawk. I can feel it in my bones. It's going to be very, very, bad."

Chapter 18

Glancing over at his unusually quiet wife, Lee tightened his grip around the leather steering wheel of the blue sedan. He had asked Fire for a separate vehicle, away from the other agents' prying ears so he could try, one last time, to talk some sense into his stubborn wife. 'I know she's mad, but damn it, so am I.'

Pulling the visor down to block out the powerful rays of the morning sun, he remembered his earlier pleas for her to stay at the White Swan. He had even tried to get her father to join his efforts to make her understand how dangerous this could be. However, his old friend had simply shrugged his shoulders and replied, "I know my girls, and believe me, they have a stubborn streak in them so wide sometimes, it makes our own look weak in comparison." He had then wheeled himself into the living room and left Lee to his own devices.

Naturally, as fate would have it, Amanda had been making her way down the steps just as he had begun his ploy to get her father's help. He involuntarily flinched at the memory of the exact moment when he had opened his mouth and inserted his foot. "Frank," he said, "she's just going to get in the way. She's not able to take care of herself in the shape she's in, and for that matter, she's not able to distance herself from what has to be done. Not only will I have to worry about Phillip, but I'll have her to worry about her too!" Her eyes had locked with his for one split second before she stormed out of the house and to the car, showing him the hurt, pain, and betrayal she felt from his words. 

Ignoring the snickers and "knowing" looks between his fellow agents, Lee decided not to continue his debate with her then; instead, he had to focus his attention on their main objective, which was to rescue Phillip and bring Weasel down, once and for all. Just the thought of Weasel made his skin crawl, and he wanted his wife as far away from that bastard as possible. However, she wasn't making it easy for him to do that.

Nighthawk was staying behind on this mission, afraid that his presence would only add fuel to the fire if Weasel saw him. Lee had agreed with that thought, especially since there would be nothing for his old friend to do but sit in the car and wait. He had felt a measure of relief when Richard had informed him that Agents Tomcat and Flanigan were going to be guarding the house along with Lorna and Mick, just in case things backfired at the warehouse and Weasel made an attempt to get to Nighthawk.   


Once the final preparations had been made, and the search and rescue group had been assembled, the small army of men had left the safety of the White Swan and headed for their respective vehicles. Looking back to the house as he placed his hand on the door handle of the driver's side, he locked eyes with his father-in-law. The fading brown eyes told the whole story of what was to come. He had seen that look on so many soldiers during the Vietnam War: fear, defiance, loss, and the knowledge that death was near. 

Nodding once at the older man, he opened the door and climbed in. Amanda's eyes were focused on the street beside them, refusing to look at him, but he could see the remnants of tears that still clung to her cheeks. Cursing himself for loosing control of his temper, and his tongue, he started the vehicle and followed the other sedans out of the parking lot.

Glancing, again, at his wife, his thoughts wandered to the events of the past few days and the fear he felt in almost losing her. This time, he felt as if he was going to lose her for real. His senses had been sending him warnings since the phone call from Weasel earlier. They were the same inner warnings he had chosen to ignore when they had gone in to catch Addi Birol last year. He had ignored them then, and it had almost cost him the woman beside him, the reason for his existence. He wasn't about to let that happen again, no matter what. He had to find a way to keep Amanda out of harm's way.

~~~~~~~~~~

Weasel paced back and forth in the cold hallway of the warehouse. It was now almost 8:30 in the morning and still no word from Simon. Continuing to glance at the ivory phone on the desk in the room adjacent to young Phillips "cell," his anger mounted. "Damn! If Simon has done something to Mrs. King…Stetson, he'd better have run, and run far. It's too late for me to ditch and run. I need that list, or my future is as over as his will be." 

  
He had left a message with his F.A.A. contact over five hours ago and had hoped to hear something from him by now. The not knowing was killing him. "First Simon, now Jones at F.A.A. Not even the great Scarecrow seemed to have any information," he mumbled out loud. Of course, he had not been able to stay on the line for very long, but the tone in his nemesis' voice had pretty much told him that he was still looking for his wife. Unless, of course, Scarecrow was as good an actor as he was an agent. 

Stopping outside the door to Phillip's room, he decided it was time to find out just what cards the boy's family really held. Taking out the key, he unlocked the door and opened it. As he stepped inside, he noticed the boy was still lying on the cot in the same position he had been in the last time he had checked on him.

A smile spread across Weasel's face. 'I may end up having some fun after all. The boy's defensive streak wore down earlier, and it won't be any problem to just give him a little of this special truth serum. After the initial "hit," it should take affect in less than thirty minutes, and perhaps I'll learn a few more of Scarecrow's secrets. Once I get information I can use, I'll just kill the boy. I could leave the body on the side of the street for all to see.' He let out an evil laugh at his own thoughts. 'I'd love to see the look on Scarecrow's face when he realizes that I've just destroyed his wife's mental state with that single gesture.'

Phillip refused to flinch when he had heard the door open, deciding it would be in his best interest to pretend to be asleep. The less he had to look into the horrid eyes of that evil man, the better.

Weasel's fingers eased over the butt of his gun as he pulled it from its holster. 'Or I could just kill him now. What could a small boy tell me about the great Scarecrow?' The feel of the metal against his skin always renewed the animal instincts in him. As he crept towards his sleeping captive, he could smell the fear in the air. 

Narrowing his eyes at the boy, he had second thoughts. 'I have time. Couldn't hurt to do a little digging into some of Scarecrow's secrets.'

As he eased his gun back into its holster, he left the room momentarily leaving the door open. Phillip slowly opened his eyelids at the sound of the retreating footsteps, turned, and looked over his shoulder. Ignoring his own discomforts, he bolted from the bed and headed for the door. 

Just as he reached the threshold of the door, the wall of human flesh that blocked his freedom knocked him back to the floor. Weasel smiled at the fact that the boy still had enough courage to attempt an escape. "I see you've picked up a thing or two from Stetson."

Phillip pushed himself up from the floor, forgetting his fear as he rushed at the evil man. "Let me go!"

Weasel wrapped his arms around the weakened boy's neck as he laughed at his feeble attempt. "Now just hold still, this won't hurt a bit." 

Phillip cried out in pain as he felt the sharp needle inserted into his arm. "What are you doing!?!" he screamed, trying to break away. 

Weasel remained silent as he held the thrashing boy tightly in his arms. A smile of satisfaction crossed his face as he felt the change in the boy's struggles. Where he had been fighting Weasel's grip, wildly pushing at his arms and kicking at the floor, he soon sagged and had trouble lifting his arms, his feet sliding out from under him. Finally, he hung limply in Weasel's arms, muscles jerking spasmodically now and then. 

Licking his lips at the pleasurable rush this struggle had provided him, Weasel dragged Phillip over to the cot and threw him down roughly. "I'll see you in about five minutes, after you wake up. I have a few questions for you, my young buck." His left hand touched Phillip's hair just as he heard heavy footsteps storming down the hall. 

"Weasel! Weasel, where the hell are you!?!" The deep voice of Dolenz reverberated down the hall. 

"In here!" Weasel shouted in reply.

Dolenz entered the room with a distressed look on his face. "Two blue sedans just flanked the end of the street, and another two parked on either side. Four men jumped out in a search pattern, and from the looks of the type of weapons they were carrying, they're hunting more than a wino or two."

"Damn! How the hell'd they find us?" Weasel shot Dolenz a look filled with hate. 

Dolenz just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know, boss, but our guys are already in position. We're just waiting to see where they head."

Weasel took one last look at the still form of his captive before turning and heading out of the room, Dolenz on his heel. Locking the door, he faced his henchman. "Make sure all the doors are covered and send out a few to monitor things from the outside. I'll keep a watch from in here."

Dolenz nodded in understanding and headed to give orders to the other men. Weasel watched him go and then headed upstairs to get a better view of the street. Jingling his keys in his left hand, his right remained tight around his gun. Heading to the room he had prepared for his visitors, a wolfish smile crossed his face. "I'm ready, Scarecrow? Are you?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee anxiously watched Fire and the other agents exit the sedans in front of them. It was now or never. Turning to his wife, he put his hand on her arm to keep her from exiting the vehicle.

  
She turned determined eyes towards him, "Lee…"

"No. Amanda, listen to me. I want you to stay in the car. There's nothing for you to do in there right now, and I don't know what we're going to run up against. I want you to stay in the car. You can call in the local police if we need them. Fire put them on the ready."

Amanda opened her mouth to protest, but Lee moved his other hand to cover her lips with his finger. "This one isn't open for debate. You're here," he gently tapped his finger against her warm skin, "you can be of more use to Phillip out here." His third and final light tap ended with a lingering caress that trailed down over her lips and down her jaw line, ending under her chin. He locked eyes with her and said, softly but firmly, "Please."

Staring into the hazel eyes she loved so much, Amanda knew, as much as she wanted to argue, that her husband was right. She had replayed his hurtful words through her mind the entire trip and knew that he had only said them out of love and concern for her. She also knew, deep down, that he truly needed her to stay behind so he could concentrate on Phillip. Reluctantly she replied, "Okay…but on one condition." She saw Lee raise his eyebrow. "I mean it, Lee." She reached out and placed her hand over his. "If you're not out in fifteen minutes, I'm coming in after you, back up team or not."

"You promise to give us fifteen minutes and then call the locals?" Lee inquired, not quite sure he'd believe her even if she said yes.

She just nodded, squeezing his hand. "Now go and get our son." 

Lee leaned over and kissed her fully on the mouth. Hesitating before he pulled away, he reached around to his back and pulled out a small pistol from the waistband of his jeans. "Amanda, take this."

Amanda didn't refuse the offering as she took it from his steady hand. "I hope I don't have to use it."

Lee leaned forward one last time and brushed his lips to hers before turning to go. "I just want you to have something to protect yourself. I love you." Shutting the door, he prayed that she would remain safe, and inside the car.  
  
"I love you, too," she answered and then, almost as an after thought called out, "Be careful!"  
  
Lee glanced back as her words of safety reached his ears. Giving her a lavish wink of 

reassurance, he disappeared through the warehouse doors along with another agent. Amanda looked at the illumination of the clock in the dashboard and began her countdown. Keeping her right hand snuggly wrapped around the weapon, she kept her eyes were alert to her surroundings. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Weasel's eyes narrowed as he watched Scarecrow enter his domain. "Luck of the draw today, Scarecrow. Welcome to my parlor!" Hearing footsteps behind him, Weasel glanced back, then said. "Put him in the chair next to the far wall." Turning his attention back to his monitors, a low growl came from his chest. 

Phillip's head lolled back and then fell forward as Dolenz set him unceremoniously onto the wooden chair. Not a single muscle in the boy's body twitched as the man balanced him in a sitting position, tied him securely in place, and then stood watching him, making sure he was still breathing.

After a moment, Weasel turned and walked over to glare down at the unconscious boy. "Has he said anything?"

Dolenz shook his head. "Nothing."

Sighing, Weasel leaned down and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, giving it a light shake. "We have guests, Phillip. It appears your mother has decided to join the game after all." He paused, watching for any kind of response, then, receiving none, shook the boy roughly. "Your family has caused me too many problems, and now you're just one more item to the list."

"Maybe you gave him too much of that serum, boss," Dolenz said, then stepped back at the look in Weasel's eyes. Turning, he walked over to make sure the camera was properly focused.

Weasel reached down and grasped Phillip by the chin, tilting his head back. "I'd hope to get a few words out of you before Scarecrow arrived, but," he pulled his hand back, letting the boy's head fall forward, again, "it appears," he glanced over at Dolenz's back, "perhaps I did miscalculate the dosage."

Narrowing his eyes at his employee, who was nervously tapping his foot, Weasel tilted his head slightly to the side. "I almost forgot one of my play toys. Hand me that brown box next to the camera."

Dolenz's hands shook slightly as he picked up the shoebox sized package. "Is it safe to move it?"

Pointing his slim finger towards the bottom of Phillip's chair, Weasel laughed at Dolenz's worry. "Just don't drop it, or we might beat Scarecrow to hell after all."

Placing the box under Phillip's chair, Dolenz turned to go out the door. "I'm going to go check on things."

Weasel continued his laughter as he watched his employee scamper from the room, then turned his attention back to the monitors and the activities outside. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee's body was rigid as he pressed himself against the gray walls of the warehouse in search of his stepson. Frustration strung him tighter and tighter as he searched each room, only to find them vacant. Present findings would have the average person believe that the warehouse was empty, and that, perhaps, this was not the building at all. Pressing his earpiece tighter into his ear, he waited for word from the others for any indication that Weasel had been spotted. 

"Strike Leader, this is Team One." A spark of hope brought him up short as he heard the Secret Service agent's voice crackle in his ear, but then he sighed at the man's next words. "All clear in the brick house."

"Shit." Fire's annoyance was obvious over the radio. "Maybe this is some ploy Weasel is using to throw us off track."

Lee all but growled in disgust as he tried to keep the thought from dashing his remaining hopes. Reaching the steps that led to the upper level of the warehouse, he motioned for the agent accompanying him to take the left side while he took the right.

"Strike Leader, Team Two. No sign of the wolf at the stick house."

Lee closed his eyes briefly then looked up the lengthy stairwell before him. A sense of danger crept back into his body. Flattening himself against the wall, he began to climb the steps that he hoped would lead him to Phillip.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amanda watched the clock as it ticked off the last of her fifteen-minute wait. She had heard the transmissions from the other teams and knew that there was a distinct possibility that Weasel was playing with them. Picking up the phone she called in the back up team. After getting confirmation that they were on their way and would be there in ten minutes, she returned the receiver to its base. Retrieving the list from her jeans pocket and sliding her gun into the sock of her uninjured foot, she opened the car door, stepping out into the street. Taking a deep breath, she extended her arm to hold the paper out in front of her. "Time to raise the stakes."

Weasel's face showed admiration for the guts the woman in the street held. She had apparently escaped Simon, and perhaps that is how they had found out about the warehouse sooner than he had planned. Nodding to the man across the street in the shadows of the building, his strategy to gain all of his objectives was put into motion.

Amanda felt the shadowy presence behind her, but she kept a tight grip on her instincts to run or reach for her gun. She needed to allow him to take her to Phillip. It was their only chance of getting him back. Holding up both her hands at the feel of a gun to her back, she began to move foreward. "Where is Phillip?"

She received a smug snort for an answer then felt a hand on her shoulder. When she stopped and didn't turn around, her captor slid his hand down to her elbow and, bending, retrieved her gun from its hiding place under her pant leg. "You feds need to learn a new hiding spot for your guns." 

Nudging her, with his gun still in her back, in the direction of the warehouse Lee had entered, he shoved her small gun into his waistband. She prayed that Lee would find Phillip before all hell broke loose, and that they would all make it out of the warehouse alive.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lee's eyes locked briefly with his fellow agent as they listened to the confirmations that the other agents were leaving their positions and joining them at theirs. Pointing his gun to the left side of the hall, Lee nodded his meaning for the other agent to take that side to investigate. Lee counted the empty rooms as he moved from one to another. "Three." As he left the third room, he heard a familiar muffled cry as he reached the fourth. Taking a deep breath, the muscles in his jaws clenched as he came to terms with who it was. 'She didn't wait in the car.'

Glancing over to see that his partner had heard the same sound, they both moved in unison to flank the outside of the door. Lee held up one finger after another to the man beside him as he mouthed, "One…two…three" 

The two men exploded into the room as the door slammed back into the wall from the force from Lee's shoulder. Frantic eyes searched the room, only to find it empty. "Damn it!" Lee snarled. "I know I heard Amanda!"

Lee felt a slap on his shoulder and turned to find his fellow agent trying to get his attention. His eyes focused on where the man pointed. A small television sat on the windowsill surrounded by miniature speakers. "Hello, Scarecrow! I've been waiting for you!"

Lee took two long strides to reach the equipment, remaining quiet as he watched and listened to the madman. Weasel chuckled at the hatred that flashed across Scarecrow's face. "It seems you've come up empty handed. What a pity."

The muscles in Lee's jaw tightened as he watched the camera swing from Weasel's smug expression to focus on his wife and son bound by ropes to chairs. 

"You see, Scarecrow, I've got what I want, now. Your sweet Amanda delivered it to me herself. Now, I could just kill your wife and son, and be off, but what fun would that be? I have a game in mind."

Lee maintained a composed appearance as his eyes narrowed at the man once again on the screen, but inside, his body was exploding with rage. "What do you want?"

Weasel brought his face closer to the camera. "As I've said, I have what I want. The question is, what do you want?"

Lee could hear the calming voice of Richard in his earpiece as he tried to figure out what game Weasel was playing. "Scarecrow, we're on the lower level of the warehouse. The police are on their way. Don't let him taunt you. He can't get out; we have every exit covered."

Lee's eyes remained glued to the screen as he heard his partner leave the room and continue down the corridor. "I want Amanda, and I want my son!" The camera quickly returned to the woman who filled his heart. Her hands and arms were bound to the chair, and her mouth covered with duck tape. Though not noticeable to other's, Lee could read the strain in Amanda's quiet demeanor, and when she looked up at the camera, he suddenly knew how she'd 'delivered' what Weasel wanted. Sighing, his lips tightened as he listened. 

"It's a game of time, Scarecrow. If you look carefully, you'll see a bomb under your stepson's seat. It has enough plastic explosives in it to level this building. The question is, how bad do you want me? Save yourself, but think of what you'd lose. Save your wife, but how happy would she be? Save your stepson and raise the boys alone. Or come and get me." Weasel laughed at his own wit. "The choice is yours, Scarecrow. In the meantime, I'm off now to enjoy my new found wealth. Taped under the television is the location of your wife and son. The bomb is set to go off in exactly ten minutes! Ta! Ta!" 

The screen went black as Lee snatched the small set up from the windowsill and ripped the envelope from underneath. "Get everybody the hell out, Fire!" he yelled into his microphone. "He's got this place rigged to blow!" Letting the television fall to the floor, he ripped the envelope to see its contents. "The damn warehouse has a basement! Another fucking basement!"

Tompkins and Fire met him at the bottom of the steps. Not stopping to explain, he ran for the fire exit. Following the thundering footsteps of Scarecrow, Tompkins stopped short of the closing door. "You sure about this, Fire?"

Richard pushed his way around Tompkins and began to head down the steps. "I've come this damn far with that boy; I'll see it out to the end."

Tompkins shook his head and joined the loud echo of footsteps descending the steps.

Lee stopped at the bottom to get his bearings, focusing momentarily on his surroundings. "Shit, I count four doors."

Richard didn't stop when he reached Lee, instead he headed for the closest door. With a quick kick, gun in hand, he entered and shouted. "Clear."

Lee proceeded to the next with the same result. Tompkins had taken the middle room and reported the same. Finally, all three stood outside the last room, with Richard and Tompkins flat against the wall, Lee slammed the door open with his foot. Lee immediately found the objects of his search as he swiftly closed the distance between them. 

As soon as he'd entered the room, Amanda had begun explaining the situation. "I managed to get out of my ropes, but Phillip's unconscious. Weasel said something about a truth serum and that he should wake up in time to witness his own death." Her hands shook lightly as she worked at her son's ropes. "After he turned off the monitor, he went out the back."

Dropping to his knees, Lee immediately began to help her untie Phillip's bonds. As he hastily pulled the remaining ropes from Phillip's ankles, he bumped his head against Amanda's. Feeling something snag and pull painfully at his hair, he reached up and encountered a sticky substance. "What the hell?" he growled looking up. 

Seeing the shocked expression on his wife's face and the silver strip dangling from his fingers, he couldn't help but smile at the thought that entered his mind. Deciding to tell her about it later, he touched the corner of her mouth where his actions had finished jerking the tape from her lip. "Sorry."

Amanda gave him a weak smile as she continued to work on the ropes that tied Phillip's hands. "I know."

Lee steadied Phillip as the final ropes came loose then hefted the boy into his arms, bracing himself so Amanda could us his arm to leverage herself to her feet. For a moment, he reveled in the feeling of having both his son and wife next to him.

Richard eased the bomb out from under the chair. Opening the lid, his eyes widened at the amount of wires attached to the timer. "I don't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting this damn thing disarmed. We've got to get out of here! Four minutes and counting."

Lee quickly handed the still-unconscious Phillip over to Tompkins. "Get them out of here, Fire."

Amanda clung to his arm as they began to flee the room. "Where are you going?"

Lee flashed her a brief smile and pulled her to him tightly, crushing his lips to hers. Releasing her just as quickly, he looked at Richard. "Get her out of here! I'm going a Weasel hunting."

Richard put his hands on Amanda's shoulders tightly as he watched Scarecrow head for the door in the back of the room, feeling Amanda tense at his final "I love you!" before disappearing down the hallway. He turned to lead her to safety when Amanda suddenly jerked free. "No! Aman—"

"I'm not letting him go after that madman by himself!" she yelled as she raced across the room as best she could with her throbbing foot. Just as she reached the doorway, Richard's hand closed around her right arm, pulling her to a jolting stop. Desperately trying to pull away from his tight hold, she turned pain-filled eyes towards him. "I'm not leaving without him!"

Richard swung her around to face him. "Your children need you, Amanda." He motioned for Tompkins to go on ahead. "Your husband will be fine. He can take care of himself. Let's get the hell out of here!" 

Amanda shook her head violently, continuing to pull against his grasp. "He needs me now!"

Richard saw the determination burning in her eyes and mentally calculated the time remaining. Deciding his only option was to force her, he unceremoniously scooped her up into his arms, and followed Tompkins out of the room and towards the nearest exit. "I'll be damned if I'm going to have the wrath of Scarecrow on me if something happens to you," he growled then raised his voice. "You can't help him right now!"

Amanda continued to struggle as Richard pulled her close to his chest and exited the room. "He's my partner!"

Richard stopped at the bottom of the steps as he looked into the tears welling up in the eyes of the woman he carried. "I understand. He's become my friend these last few days, and I know that you're his wife. I also know that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything happened to you. He's going to need you when all of this is over. Your whole family is!"

Amanda knew Richard was right, and realizing that they needed to get out of the building as soon as possible, she ceased trying to escape. As they hastily continued up the steps, she leaned her head against Fire's shoulder and sent out a silent prayer that Lee would make it out alive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee's eyes blinked against the bright light of the sun streaming down the corridor where the hallway had led him. Just then, he heard two shots fired. Cautiously, he approached the bend in the hallway and wasn't surprised to find a set of stairs leading up. Glancing down, he saw the lifeless body of Carl lying on the bottom steps. Leaning against the damp wall to catch his breath, he jerked his head up at the sounds of a struggle at the top of the stairs. He could barely make out the muffled voices in front of him as he edged his way closer. Nearing the top steps, he peaked around the corner and saw Agent Lewis struggling with Weasel just inside the now-open door leading outside.

His eyes focused on the man he was seeking, and he called out "Weasel!"

Lewis lost control of the situation at the distraction Lee had caused, giving Weasel the opportunity to overtake him. Lee cursed himself for his disruption as he rushed to try and help the fallen agent free himself from the clutches of his enemy. Seeing the pain in Lewis' eyes, he sent him a look of an apology. Hoping that Lewis would live through this, he turned and raised his gun, halting the other man's escape. "Hold it right there, Weasel!"

Weasel turned to face Lee with an eerie smile on his lips as he pulled the knife from Lewis' right shoulder. 

Lewis slumped to the ground, and the last thing he saw as his vision went black was the look of steel on Lee Stetson's face. 

"I see you've made your choice." Putting his greed ahead of his own freedom, he turned to enjoy the look of suffering on Lee's features as he stepped closer to his nemesis. "How does it feel to know that you're slut and her offspring will soon die?"

Lee felt his insides turn to ice as he glanced at his watch, and then back to the arrogant man before him. "They should be almost out by now, with two minutes and twenty-four seconds to spare."

Weasel's anger grew at the thought of not reaping his revenge on the agent named Scarecrow. "Wanna bet?" Lee brought his gun level with the man's head just as he turned to leave the building. "I suppose I shouldn't have underestimated you, Scarecrow," Weasel said as a bitter laugh escaped his lips.

As Weasel jerked his hand towards his pocket, Lee reacted by kicking his leg out from under his opponent. Weasel fell back against the wall, and trying to regain his balance, he reached out and pulled Lee towards him. Lee lost hold of his gun, and it fell to the ground, firing a shot back down the stairs. 

  
The two men struggled, trying to get control of the weapon. Lee planted his left fist squarely into his enemy's face, knocking him into the corner where the floor and the wall met. As Weasel struggled to gain an upper hand, Lee regained a hold of his gun and pointed it directly between Weasel's eyes, and pulled the trigger back. 

Weasel only smiled when he heard the click. Shrugging his shoulders and keeping his eyes locked on the agent, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black box "Then again, perhaps you shouldn't have underestimated me!" 

Lee immediately recognized the item in his opponent's hand. With his back towards the open doorway, he prepared to shoot his nemesis down. "I don't think you'll be pushing that button. I've got a pretty itchy trigger finger right now, Weasel, and I don't think you'll have enough time to push it before you die."

Weasel took a step closer to Lee and the light outside. "Are you sure you want to test that, Scarecrow?" Before Lee could fire his gun, Weasel pressed the button.

Lee heard the click of the switch as he pulled the trigger, and his last conscious thought was that his wife and son had made it safely out of the building.

To be continued…


	7. Giving Thanks for What We Have - Part 7 ...

Disclaimers: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned authors. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you would like to add it to an archive, please just let us know.

Summary: This story takes place after the series has ended. It's a "sequel" of sorts to our story _"More Than Meets the Eye."_ A man from Lee's past turns Amanda's family life upside down.

Author's Notes: We did extensive research surrounding the Vietnam War and events that took place during that time. Some scenarios mentioned really did occur; we just added the wonderful world of SMK to them. Any airplane scenes mentioned we checked with a flight expert to handle any reality issues as we wrote. A very special thank you to Tammy for beta reading and being a true part of helping us write this story.

Timeframe: Thanksgiving the year they were married.

Rating: R (some suggestive situations and language)

**__**

Giving Thanks for What We Have

By Diane & Amy (Two Phantoms)

Chapter 19

Tompkins carrying Phillip, and Fire supporting Amanda, had just crossed the threshold of the main level and stepped out into the open air when the bomb exploded. The blast shook the ground beneath them, reaching through the door and slamming them into a heap before the shaking had stopped. 

Richard glanced back at the horrid sight behind him as he instinctively used his body to protect Amanda. A hand of fire seemingly reached up to touch the pale blue sky as the explosives ripped the raw material of the warehouse into oblivion.

As the sounds of the debris falling around them began to subside, Amanda pushed against the weight that shielded her. "Phillip!" 

Tompkins slowly moved back from the young body he had safeguarded. Phillip was moving and moaning, which brought a smile to the agent's lips. "He's gonna be all right!" 

Amanda breathed a sigh of relief as she realized her son was safe from the madman they had left behind. Feeling her own protector move his body away from her, she began to ease herself out from underneath his weight. Suddenly focusing on the muscular build above her, panic overtook her momentary happiness when she realized it didn't belong to the man she had grown accustomed to protecting her over the years. 

Her heart fell as she realized he had been on the other side of warehouse, hunting for Weasel. "Oh my god! Lee!" No longer caring about the debris still falling around them, she shoved Richard the rest of the way off of her, and scrambled to her feet.

Richard grunted as she took him by surprise with her strength, and rolled him to the ground. Quickly realizing her intent, he stood and reached for her. "Amanda, you can't go in there!"

Amanda refused to look at the man whose voice held a tone of little hope. "I have to find Lee!" 

Richard tone was soft as he spoke her name. He knew that the chances of Lee making it out alive were practically none. "Amanda—"

  
"No!" she looked at him with determination in her eyes, "He made it out…I know he did." Pulling her arm out of his grasp, she ignored the pain shooting through her body from injuries old and new, and raced towards the building, to search for some sign of her husband.

Richard turned his attention to Tompkins and Phillip. Helping Tompkins up, he assisted him in getting Phillip out of the line of threatening burnt timbers. Once they were at a safe distance from the building, Richard headed after Amanda to assist her in her search for Lee.  


As Amanda neared the building, the heat of the blazing fire licked at her skin, causing sweat pour down her face. Wiping her face with her hand, she continued to carefully pick her way through the burning debris. 

"Lee! LEE!!! Answer me! If you can hear me, answer me!" Fear now gripped her heart. Had he still been in the building when the bomb had gone off? "Please, God! Please don't let him have been inside." Suddenly, she caught sight of a hand buried underneath some sort of large panel. "Please, be Lee. Please, let it be Lee," she prayed as she rushed to the motionless figure. 

As she got closer, she realized she was looking at a man's left hand. Stopping, the first thought that came to mind was that Lee always wore his watch on his right hand. Her second thought was that it definitely wasn't her husband's hand. Not wanting to stop her search for her husband, she mentally shook herself back into temporary sanity and started to walk away. Suddenly she stopped. She knew that she couldn't let a man die when she could have helped, whether he was friend or foe. 

Turning back, she called out as she dropped to her knees. "Can you hear me?" She began to fling the blackened plaster that covered the man's features to the side. And then she recognized him. "Agent down! I need medical assistance!" Touching her fingers to his neck through the blood that flowed from his shoulder, she sighed in relief to find a pulse. "Lewis, can you hear me? Hold on." She gently touched his hair, careful not to move him. "We have help coming. Just hold on." Standing, she looked back over her shoulder. "Richard!"

Lewis' eyes fluttered then squinted against the smoke and light that filled them. "Scarecrow…Weasel inside…top…with me."

Amanda's heart stopped as his raspy words penetrated her mind. "Where, Lewis? Where is Lee!?!?" Lewis closed his eyes again as the pain and loss of blood took over. Grasping his left hand with hers, she continued to plead with him. "Come on, Lewis! Don't you give up on me! I need to know. Where is he?"

Richard was at her side by the time they heard the first of the fire truck sirens approaching. "Damn!" Waving his arms towards the emergency personnel beginning to push through the burning rubble and dense smoke, he yelled to get their attention. "Agent down over here!" 

Looking up at Richard, she felt the monster of defeat slipping into her soul. Her body began to shake uncontrollably as the tears came. "Lee…still… There's no way… he could have made it…"

Richard pulled her to her feet as the first wave of firemen rushed to extinguish the inferno before them. "Weren't you the one trying to convince me that he made it out not minutes ago?"

Struggling to regain a semblance of composure, Amanda gripped Richard's arm, took a breath, and nodded, slowly at first, and then with more conviction. She gave him a tight smile of thanks for renewing her hope as they quickly moved away from Lewis when the paramedics had reached them. 

Two bodies later, and still no sign of Lee, Amanda felt her resolve giving way again. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, she tried to keep the feeling of hope from being replaced by emptiness. As she closed her eyes to the stinging of the thickening black smoke, she felt something pulling at her mind to open her eyes. "LEE! LEE, ANSWER ME!"

Richard turned his head at the desperate quality of her cry then spun his body around to the left at the creaking and groaning of weakened timber and concrete starting to buckle under its own weight. "We've got to get out of here, Amanda! That wall's is going to give any minute!"

Refusing to give up, she continued her frantic search as she called her husband's name. As the seconds ticked by, she could hear the warning shouts of the firemen as they fled from the crumbling building. Smoke threatened to choke her as she began to re-search the area near the building where they had located Lewis. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes picked up the glare of something next to the wall through the haze. Without hesitation, she started running. "Richard! He's over here!" Within seconds, she was standing over Lee.

Richard was at her side in the blink of an eye, and he immediately recognized the still form beneath the rubble. "Scarecrow!"

Dropping to her knees beside her love, Amanda grasped his left wrist in her hands. Relief flooded through her as she felt his wrist for a pulse, strong and steady, and tears of joy cascaded down her face as she raced to remove the debris from his body. Jerking the board that covered his face away, she looked at the large timber that lay on his chest. "We've got to move it!"

Richard tried to lift the timber, but only managed to shift it fractionally. "Amanda, we've got to get help with this."

Amanda eyes scanned the area around them to find that it was deserted of other people. The eerie crackling sounds coming from the wall filled her ears as she looked up and locked eyes with Richard. Shaking her head, she protested. "No time! We have to do this, now!" 

Richard nodded, seeing the resolve in the woman's eyes. "Come around here, Amanda," he said, and then positioned her at the end of the beam. "On my count, push this up and hold it. I'll help you." He put his hands next to hers on the blackened wood and tried to brace his feet on the concrete floor.

Suddenly, the wall shifted heavily, and the pair found themselves pelted with fine sand. Richard leaned over to cover Amanda's head with his hand, terrified that the wall was about to crash down on their heads then and there. "We have to go, Amanda. I'm sorry."

Adrenaline rushed through Amanda's veins as she heard the first bits of concrete hit the ground behind them. "No! Richard! Pull him out! Now!"

Richard started to protest, then he noticed that she was leaning into the beam, foot braced against a piece of concrete that had obviously fallen a short time before. As he watched, the timber lying across Lee shifted and began to move. "Damn," he said softly.

Amanda's eyes remained focused on Lee as she leaned even harder into the wood. "On three…Richard." Both her voice and her body shook, but still the beam moved.

Richard positioned himself at Lee's shoulders, locking his hands under his arms. "One. . . two. . . three!"

Closing her eyes as she counted silently with Richard, Amanda found a reserve of strength and pushed with all she had as the number "three" echoed through her mind. A burning fire ripped through her foot and up the outside of her leg, as her previous injuries demanded she stop. Shoving the agony to the back of her mind, she screamed, "GET HIM OUT!"

Keeping his eyes focused on the injured man, Richard jerked the limp body out of harm's way at her words. "Amanda! I've got him!"

Amanda dropped the timber at his words, barely catching herself from crashing to the ground with it. After a brief moment to collect her wits, she rushed to Lee's side. "Lee! Lee! Wake up, sweetheart!"

A momentary wave of shock hit Richard as he realized the physical strength Amanda King held. He had read about mothers possessing unbelievable strength to save their child, or a husband lifting a vehicle to rescue his wife, but he had never truly believed it until now. Hearing a loud crack behind him, he knelt back beside Lee grabbing one of his arms. "We've gotta move him, now! This walls gonna go any second!"

Amanda placed her husband's left arm around her shoulder, and with Richard on his other side, they dragged him away from the building. No sooner had they cleared the area than the loud crash of the wall behind them sent the three diving to the ground for protection. 

Once the thundering sound had cleared and the noise of rescue personnel could be heard again, Richard pushed himself up and looked over at Amanda. "You two must have more lives than ten cats put together! I hope to God you never run out of them."

Amanda gave him a half smile and then turned her attention to the sounds emanating from her husband. "Lee?"

Lee moaned as he brought his hands to his head. "Amanda!" Blinking in the brightness of the day, he scanned the area quickly, then turned a worried look back to his wife. "Where's Phillip!"

Amanda gently stroked his face with her trembling left hand as she placed her right hand softly on his shoulder. "He's with Tompkins." She glanced up at Richard, who nodded. 

"He's fine, Lee."

Placing his hands on the pavement, he tried to push his way up into a sitting position. "Shit," he hissed as he grimaced then sucked in a shallow breath.

Amanda gingerly touched his ribs where the timber had fallen. "You got knocked down," she said, touching his face with her fingers. "I'm afraid you may have a cracked rib or two."

Taking her hands in his, he coaxed her to help him sit up. "I think you're right about the ribs," he grumbled, taking a careful breath, "but you'd think I'd be used to broken body parts by now." Stopping to brush the hair from her soot-covered face, he smiled at the warmth he found in her eyes. "We did it."

An unsettling laughter filled the bitter nip of the morning air, as Amanda's emotional state began to collapse at the sight of life in her husband's loving eyes. Her husband was alive, her son returned to her; her family was whole again. Releasing her husband's hands and turning away from him, she placed her hands behind her on the cold pavement and used her arms for support. Tilting her head back to look up at the slowly clearing sky, she felt free again.

Richard extended his hand to help his friend to his feet. "Damn, man! You gave us a scare."

Shaking his head to recall exactly what had taken place, Lee felt the all-too-familiar burning in his side. As he tried not to wince at the pain every movement caused, he looked over to his wife once more, absorbing her physical state for the first time. Her face was pale, the bandage around her head had been loosened, and a small trickle of blood made its way down the right side of her face. Though she looked like someone who belonged in the hospital instead of sitting in the street, he saw a peace there he hadn't seen in what seemed like years. "Amanda, is Phillip really all right?"

Amanda titled her head over to look into his hazel eyes. "He was moving before I came to find you, and I'm sure Tompkins has him with the paramedics now. I looked him over when I was undoing his ropes before you got there. He has some nasty bruising on his arm…" She stopped as the thought of her son being in the clutches of that mad man made her shiver in disgust.

Lee went to stand before his wife, locking eyes with her. "Amanda?"

Amanda smiled softly as she continued, "He was coming around, too, and that's a good sign. It means that the drug Weasel gave him is wearing off. I don't think that he's suffering from anything that a loving mother and father can't heal with a little T.L.C." 

Richard looked over at the now-demolished building. "I wonder where the hell that little Weasel is, anyway?"

A rueful smile graced Lee's shinning eyes as he winked at his wife. "I don't know where Weasel is." Lee turned to look at Fire. "The last I saw of him, he was behind me when this place blew all to hell. He had a detonator." Holding his right side tightly with his left arm, he knelt beside his wife. "I wasn't sure if you'd made it out in time."

Amanda pushed herself up from her resting position and sat before him. Taking his right hand in hers, she brushed her lips across his. "I tried not to give up hope that you hadn't made it out, either. I just kept telling myself that you had."

Suddenly, they heard a loud rustling a few feet from them. They looked up to see the back-up team combing the area, looking for other survivors. All three agents' heads jerked to the right at the hate-filled sounds of Weasel's voice echoing in the air. The sight of Weasel being dragged out from underneath a small pile of rubble just to the side of the building reaffirmed Lee's fear that Weasel was too damn lucky. 

However, the sight and sound of the handcuffs being slapped on the evil man sent a wave of satisfaction through him, one that Lee had thought he'd never feel a few hours ago. His family was safe, and now Weasel was in custody. 'I'm gonna make damn sure that he never gets out!' Turning his gaze away from the enemy, he pulled his wife into a tight embrace.

Richard watched the two lovers before him with a bit of sadness. His job with that family was soon to end. They had captured the villain, saved the damsel in distress, and united a family that had been apart for too many years. He was happy for the family he'd spent the last ten years with, but he would miss them. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he started to head back towards the sound of roaring sirens. He needed to help put some type of order in the madness up ahead. Sighing at the fact that his job was never done, he began to yell out orders to his agents.

Lee tightened his arms around Amanda as he watched the slumped shoulders of the older man heading back to the waiting vehicles. He knew that there was much left to be done— debriefings, court appearances, and tons of paperwork— but after that, he doubted Fire would be in their lives much more. The man had protected his family for so many years, and without a word being said, he would soon be getting on with is own life again. 

Amanda touched his face with her cold fingers, bringing him back to the present. When he pulled her weak body closer to his, she smiled as he kissed her forehead just above the re-opened wound. "Lee, we need to go see our son, and get you to the ambulance."

Shifting his grip, he reassured himself that she was once again safe in his arms. As he felt her pulling back from him, he released her. "Let's go see our boy."

Placing his left arm snuggly around his injured rib cage, he pushed himself up with his right arm. As he turned to extend his hand to help Amanda up, he saw the flash of pain in her eyes as she tried to stand. "Amanda?"

Her adrenaline gone, her emotions drained, Amanda closed her eyes as her body finally won the battle over her determination. "Lee…"

Lee took a step forward and caught her swaying body in his arms. "Amanda!"

Amanda looked up into his frightened eyes. "I think maybe I'm gonna need some help."

Staggering with her weight against his injuries and gasping at the new pain that shot through his torso, Lee looked up to see the quickly-approaching paramedic. "Over here!" Looking back down at his wife's closed eyes, another wave of hate hit him. "Damn you, Weasel."

Amanda eyes fluttered open at his strained voice. "I'm all right, Lee. I just need to rest my ankle a bit."

A low growl rumbled in Lee's chest as he felt a firm hand on his back. Looking up from his wife, his eyes softened. "I need to get her to the ambulance."

Richard nodded as he placed his right arm around Amanda's shoulders. "Phillip is in an ambulance that's getting ready to leave. Let me have her." He bent, sliding his left hand under her knees, then, pulling her snugly into his arms, straightened.

Amanda felt the familiar hands begin to lift her as she opened her eyes once more. "You know, Fire, folks are gonna to start to talking if you keep carrying me around like this."

Richard glanced back at the scowling face behind him. "I don't think your partner likes somebody else doing his job."

Despite the sudden tiredness that overtook her, she smiled shyly up at the new addition to her knights in shining armor. "He'll be okay."

Lee stepped closer behind them after he shooed away the paramedic trying to assist him. "I heard that." Looking at her leg as it swayed with Richard's pace, he realized that she had worsened her injury. Her pant leg was inched up above her ace bandage by the tug at her jeans where Richard held her in the bend of her knees. Angry scratches and the redness of new swelling screamed at Lee's eyes. "How in the hell did she do that?" 

Richard looked over at the wrinkled brow of his friend. "It's a long story that I'll have to tell you someday over a bottle of scotch…but to sum it up, she did it saving your ass."

Amanda grimaced at the exchange, hearing the worry in her husband's voice. "It's nothing a little RICE won't cure."

Richard looked down at her with puzzlement, while Lee began to laugh. "Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation, Richard."

~~~~~~~~~~

As the exhausted threesome reached the back of the first ambulance, Richard placed her on a gurney that sat at the rear of the vehicle. "I'll check on you later."

Lee placed his left hand on Richard's shoulder, trying to think of the words that would describe how he felt about the man. Richard turned to look at him with a rueful smile. "You're welcome, Scarecrow."

Watching the man walk away from them momentarily, Lee turned and looked down at his wife, who was now surrounded by paramedics. "Thank you, for saving my life."

"I always said I'd watch your rear. For better or worse, I don't plan on letting you die on my watch," she laughed.

Following the paramedics as they pushed her towards an empty ambulance behind them they could hear the frustrated cries of their son. "I'm fine. I want out of here. I want to go find my mom."

A shared glance between husband and wife brought a burst of laughter. Lee leaned down to place a soft kiss to her cheek after he stopped the progression of her movement. "Just like his mother."

Phillip heard the laughter of his mother and strained against the paramedic who held him. "Mom! Lee!"

Amanda looked up at the paramedic who seemed to already be quite agitated with her husband. "I think maybe we should go to that ambulance."

Rolling his eyes, the paramedic moved the gurney back towards the first ambulance. Amanda tried not to laugh at the man's expression as she looked up at her husband with a scoffing look and whispered, "More like his stepfather."

Lee gripped his side as the pain worsened with his laughter. "Maybe."

As the gurney was lifted into the ambulance, Amanda smiled with relief at the sight of her very anxious son who all but launched himself off his own resting spot. As the gurney was wedged firmly in place, she sat up and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. "I love you, sweetheart." 

Phillip returned his mother's hug with all his strength. His resolve began to break as he felt her gentle arms rock him back and forth. "I'm so sorry, Mom."

Amanda felt his body begin to tremble as his words faded. "It's not your fault, sweetheart. We've got a lot to tell you, but first you need to let the paramedic finish taking care of you. Then Lee and I will take you home where you belong."

Phillip wiped the tears from his face as he looked up at his mother's injured figure then over at the tall man who was leaning against the ambulance door. "Mom, are you okay?"

Amanda gently ran her fingers through her son's tangled hair as she glanced at her husband. "I'm fine, sweetheart. Just need a hot shower and a little rest."

Phillip's creased forehead smoothed as he felt his mother's familiar touch and looked into her loving eyes. "I knew you'd come." Lifting his eyes to the man who had quickly become an important part of his family, he smiled widely at his bedraggled appearance. "Did Mom drag you along?"

Lee smiled brightly at the young man before him. "Well, I couldn't let her play John Wayne all by herself, now could I?"

Shaking his head slightly, Phillip watched as his mother's eyes brightened at Lee's teasing words. Phillip's face again grew concerned as he saw a flash of pain cross Lee's face as he tried to climb into the ambulance. "Lee, are you okay?"

Deciding to lean against the door a few more minutes, Lee swallowed back the nausea that struck him and placed a smile on his lips. "Nothing some of your Mother's home cooking and a little T.L.C. won't cure."

Amanda pulled Phillip close, once again, reassuring herself, as well as her son, that everything had turned out fine. Phillip pulled slightly back and locked eyes with Lee. "If I had just stayed home like you told me to. If I hadn't gone over to that van… I'm sorry."

Lee watched as the hell of the past few days tormented the boy's soul again. He saw fear, anger, hurt, but most of all regret, in the boy's eyes. Lee reached out to him, placing his hand on the boy's shaking knee. "We'll work through this together, Phillip. We're a family now."

Amanda continued to whisper soothing words in her son's ear as she pulled him back close to her body. 

Phillip tensed slightly, turning blank eyes back towards Lee. "How did you find me?"

Amanda brushed her lips against his forehead before pulling back to allow the paramedic access to him. Nodding towards her husband, pride beamed from her. "Lee pulled in a few favors, and well…we'll explain it all to you as soon as you feel better."

Lee's eyes never wavered from his stepson's. His thoughts turned to his own childhood experiences with violence and death. He wasn't sure what Phillip had endured, but he knew that it would take more than just himself and Amanda to help him recover fully. And he sure as hell wasn't going to stand around and watch Phillip throw up brick walls around his fears. 

Momentarily glancing at his wife's teary eyes, he realized that not many men were as lucky as he was to find a woman like Amanda to help him recover. Making a mental note to be sure Dr. Phaff, the Agency psychiatrist, was present during Phillip's debriefing, he decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to arrange a few family visits to help them all recover from the effects that the past few days had caused. He thought about the irony of that idea; he'd never ever thought he'd see the day that he would willingly see a doctor, let alone a shrink. 

Placing his hand on the metal handle at the back of the ambulance, Lee set his teeth and, in one fluid movement, pulled himself into the back. "Mind if I join ya'll?"

Lee looked smugly at the paramedic who rolled his eyes towards the top of the ambulance. Shrugging his shoulders, he slid over for Lee to enter. "If I don't let you in, we're never going to get this boy to the hospital." Pausing to look at the disheveled family that filled his ambulance, he looked back to Lee. "I think you all need medical attention." Seeing a fireman cross behind he yelled to get his attention, "Hey, buddy! Mind buttoning us up."

The smoke-covered fireman smiled at the family inside and gave the doors a good shove closed. With a final double-slap to the vehicle, he turned and walked back into the thick of the action at the warehouse. 

Lee gently touched his sore ribs as he flashed his famous Stetson smile towards Phillip. "A trip to the old hospital couldn't hurt, could it, Sport?"

Phillip pulled from his mom's embrace, turning his attention to Lee. "You do look like shi--."

"Phillip!" Amanda placed a firm hand on her son's knee.

Smiling shyly, he gave his mother a guilty look. "You don't look much better, Mom."

Rolling her eyes at the antics of her two men, she took a deep breath as she laid back down on the gurney. "Thanks." Closing her eyes, she let her mind and body drift with the sway and sound of the moving vehicle. Filled with the knowledge that her family was safe, she welcomed the oblivion of sleep. 

Phillip looked over at his mom, quickly drifting into slumber, then to Lee. He wrinkled his nose as he tried to maintain a macho image as the paramedic lifted Lee's shirt to inspect the damage done. "Lee?"

Lee looked up at the worry, once again, in Phillip's eyes. "It's just a bruise or two. Maybe, even a cracked rib, but I'll be all right."

Phillip swallowed the lump in his throat at the realization that Lee had come to save him. 

"Lee, you risked your life for me and my mom."

Lee gently smiled over the pain the paramedic was causing with his poking and prodding. "It wasn't just me. Your mom was pretty remarkable."

Phillip looked at his mother then back to Lee. After a moment he found his voice again. "Thank you."

Lee leaned forward and placed his hand on Phillip's knee, giving it a quick squeeze."I'd do it again, Chief. Your family means everything to me."

A smile briefly crossed the boy's face, and then as he shut his eyes, he realized he didn't quite feel safe…not just yet. Opening them wide, he asked, "Lee?"

Lee looked into the boy's frightened eyes. Raising his eyebrows, he replied, "Yes Phillip?"

"What…" He gulped, afraid that he wouldn't like the answer. "What happened to that Weasel man?"  
  
Removing the probing paramedic's hand from his side, and ignoring the frustrated sigh of the young man, Lee moved to sit beside Phillip on his gurney. Placing his hand on the boy's arm, he said reassuringly, "Don't you worry about him, son. He's going away…far, far away, where he can never get out and do harm to this family," he looked over at the sleeping form of his wife, "or any other family, again."

Phillip smiled and sighed happily. Before Lee moved back to the attentions of the paramedic, he positioned himself on the gurney to face Amanda. Reaching out tentatively, he caressed her cheek with the tips of his fingers. 'How close I came to loosing all of you, I don't want to know. I love you, Amanda Stetson.' 

Phillip saw the love in Lee's eyes as he touched his mother's skin. He had never seen his father look at his mother with such intensity. "Lee."

Lee quickly shook his thoughts from his mind. "Yeah?"

Suddenly embarrassed by the affection Lee had shown, Phillip looked sheepishly up at him. "You really love Mom, don't you?"

Lee turned back to sit beside Phillip. "Yes, I do. I love all of you. More than I ever thought I could love anyone."

Phillip reached for Lee and wrapped his arms around his waist. "Thank you, Lee. I love you, too."

Lee closed his eyes against the pain, and took comfort in the affections of his stepson. Resting his chin on the top of Phillip's head. "I'm the one that is thankful, Phillip. I'm truly thankful." His gaze fell back to the woman resting only a few inches away. 'Thank you for accepting that package.' 

To be concluded…

  



	8. Giving Thanks for What We Have - Part 8 ...

Disclaimers: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Production Company. This story, however, is copyrighted to the mentioned authors. This story is for entertainment purposes ONLY. If you would like to add it to an archive, please just let us know.

Summary: This story takes place after the series has ended. It's a "sequel" of sorts to our story _"More Than Meets the Eye."_ A man from Lee's past turns Amanda's family life upside down.

Author's Notes: We did extensive research surrounding the Vietnam War and events that took place during that time. Some scenarios mentioned really did occur; we just added the wonderful world of SMK to them. Any airplane scenes mentioned we checked with a flight expert to handle any reality issues as we wrote. 

**A very special thank you to Tammy for beta reading and being a true part of helping us write this story.**

Timeframe: Thanksgiving the year they were married.

Rating: R (some suggestive situations and language)

**__**

Giving Thanks for What We Have

By Diane & Amy (Two Phantoms)

Chapter 20

Tightly wrapping her arms around her body to ward off the chill of the evening air, Dotty stood on the walkway in front of the White Swan, rocking back and forth on her heels, thankful to be back on solid ground once again. The boat ride the government agents had taken them on was definitely a wonderful change from being cooped up inside the bed and breakfast. It was not the time of year, however, to be jotting off onto the ocean for a quick boat ride. The water was choppy, the wind brisk, and the company anything but pleasant. 

Looking up at the porch before her, her heart sank a little more. Jamie and Kurt sat side by side on the porch swing trying to maintain a calm appearance for her sake, but she knew they were just as anxious to find out what was taking so long as she was. A feeling of warmth filled Dotty as she watched Kurt drape his arm around her grandson's nervous body. Turning back to look down the busy street, she replayed the day's events in her mind. 

The boat ride had ended early, and it wasn't until they had returned to the White Swan that they had learned the reason why. Frank had been waiting at the front door when they had entered the bed and breakfast. His face beamed with so much happiness that she thought he might burst. He had immediately blurted out that everyone was safe and on their way home before they had even made it completely through the door. 

Jamie had almost jumped out of his skin with joy at the news. He had started running through the house looking for his mother, hoping to share the wonderful news with her. After searching the entire place, he came back into the living room, where Dotty and Kurt were sitting with Frank, the earlier joy that had been on his face, had been replaced with a look of confusion.

  
She had told her grandson, when he had asked where his mom was, that she and Lee had gone to see Phillip safely home. It wasn't exactly a lie. She had just learned from Frank that Amanda had, once again, run off with those government agents. Sighing as she looked down at her watch, she realized that those events had taken place almost six hours earlier and the sun would soon be setting.

Looking back down the street in anticipation of their arrival, she decided she would definitely be having a long talk with her daughter and soon-to-be-son-in-law. What were they thinking? Frank had tried to explain that she and Lee had gone along to comfort Phillip once he had been rescued, but Dotty was not so sure she believed it anymore. Too many secrets were being kept, and it almost made her mad to think that Frank knew the truth about just what those secrets were. She had always tried to be a good and understanding mother, but things were becoming too weird. Maybe, when things had died down, she would have to do some research on the lifestyles other filmmakers.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her youngest grandson yelling. "They're back! They're back!" She watched as Jamie dashed down the stairs towards the two vehicles that were just pulling into the lot.

In the lead sedan, Amanda looked over her at her husband to find him smiling at her. She could see Jamie's excitement as they neared the White Swan. She then saw the annoyed look on her mother's face as Dotty slowly walked towards the car, and Amanda realized that another long lecture would be coming sometime soon. Sighing she looked back at her husband, whose smile had faded as he spotted his mother-in-law. "Oh, boy."

Sighing, again, at the thought of the onslaught of questions her mother was sure to have, Amanda looked down at her peacefully sleeping child. He seemed so small nestled between herself and her husband. His body slightly tilted towards Lee with his head resting on her shoulder. Placing a gentle kiss in his soft brown hair, Amanda placed her arms around his shoulders. "Phillip, sweetheart, we're home. 

Phillip's eyes snapped open, darting around with a dazed look, obviously seeking his abductor. "Please, just let me go home." He stiffened in his mother's arms, unaware of her presence. "I want to go home." 

Amanda's eyes locked with her husband's as she pulled Phillip further into her arms. "Phillip." Closing her eyes at the feel of his body shaking, she began to gently stroke his hair. "Phillip. It's okay, sweetheart. You're safe, now. Lee and I are here with you."

Phillip blinked and looked from his mother and then to Lee. "I thought…that man."

The muscles in Lee's jaws twitched as he tried to hold his anger towards Weasel in check. His family had been through so much because of that man, and it appeared that they would continue to suffer from his effects for a long time to come. Placing his hand on Phillip's leg and taking a deep breath before speaking, hoping to keep the anger from his voice, he tried to reassure him. "Phillip, he's gone. He's going to be put so far away that he won't ever see the light of day again."

Phillip looked up at Lee with the same complete trust he always found when he looked into his mother's eyes. Giving him an almost shy smile of thanks, Phillip began to bow his head, and suddenly stopped, his eyes growing a bit wide.

Lee followed Phillip's gaze to where it rested on his gun holster. "Phillip, I--"

"Lee, I know you'll take care of us." A soft grin played across the boy's face. "I think you have been for a while now." Looking to his mother, he continued, "Hasn't he, Mom?"

Amanda placed another soft kiss on his cheek before looking up at her husband. "Yes, sweetheart, he has."

Gently squeezing Phillip's knee, Lee nodded his agreement. "And I always will."

Phillip let go of his mother and turned to fully face Lee. "You know that Jamie and I aren't little kids anymore. Maybe you and Mom could tell us a little more about what you really do." 

A gasp from Amanda brought Phillip's eyes back to his mother. "Mom, I heard things while I was…" he paused, then before either adult could speak, continued, "while I was there." Glancing at his mother's worried look, he smiled back at Lee. "Besides that, I think I now know who's been the one smashing Grandma's flowers over the last few years. She keeps blaming Jamie and me." 

Lee removed his hand from Phillip's knee and raked it through his hair.

Phillip looked back at his mother. "It all makes sense. When Lee started coming over on a regular basis, her flowers suddenly seemed to thrive again." 

Lee closed his eyes at the obviously inherited observation skills. Opening his eyes to see the smiling face of his stepson, he shook his head. "I guess there's a lot that needs to be explained, Sport, but what do you say we keep this information just between the three of us until your mother and I have time to sort things out with your grandmother. Deal?"

Phillip's smile widened at the thought of having a secret that no one else in the family knew. "If I promise, will you let me take the 'Vette for a spin?"

Lee looked over Phillip, at the now-smiling woman sitting next to his stepson. "We'll see."

Phillip looked back at his mom and gave her a wink. "Deal."

Amanda placed her hand under Phillip's chin and turned his head to face hers again. "Phillip, you shouldn't discuss too much about what happened with Weasel with the rest of the family until we have time to talk to them. Okay?"

Phillip's face turned serious as he looked out the window to see his anxious brother talking to some men. "Okay, Mom." 

Lee draped his arm around the boy's shoulders. "We're all going to get some help with dealing with what happened. We'll come through this together."

Phillip smiled softly at the promise. "Thanks, Lee."

Lee smiled. "No need to thank me. You're part of my family, and I thank you for accepting me as part of yours."

Amanda smiled, but it was a smile that held a trace of sadness. She knew this conversation about their careers was going to have to come sooner or later, but she had hoped that it would have happened sometime in the next couple of years. The thought that it was going to happen a lot sooner than later, made her realize just how the events of the past few days, were bringing them all closer together. Looking up, she noticed her mother and the others anxiously waiting outside the car, and she realized that a lot more secrets would soon need to be revealed. She put on a sterner face and pointed her right index finger at her son. "Remember, Phillip. Don't tell Jamie too much about what went on, especially about Lee and me."

Phillip nodded solemnly, his thoughts briefly returning to his ordeal. "I promise." Then he turned back to look at Lee. "Do I still have to talk to that agency guy again about what happened?"

Looking out the tinted windshield of the front window of the sedan, Lee saw Jamie step up beside the vehicle. "You already gave him your statement, but I think we may have to talk to him, and perhaps another friend of mine in a few days. You up to that, Sport?"

Shrugging his shoulders and stifling a yawn, Phillip smiled up at Lee. "You gonna be there with me and Mom?"

Hearing the front door of the sedan open, the threesome knew that it was time to face the rest of the family. Lee gave Phillip one last pat on the leg and looked over at Amanda. "I don't plan on being anywhere else."

Amanda looked out her window to see her youngest son eagerly awaiting their exit. "Phillip, are you ready?"

Phillip nodded as he reached across his mother for the door handle. Stopping at the feel of a strong hand on his shoulder, he glanced back at the worried face. "I promise."

Lee released the boy's small shoulder and graced him with his famous Stetson smile. "Good."

Amanda sighed, and then opened her car door to exit. Looking up to see her mother and Jamie smiling brightly, she couldn't help but have the overwhelming sense of complete peace. 'We're all home.' 

At Dotty's gasp Amanda mustered a bright smile for her. "I'm fine, mother."

Dotty bent down to pick up the crutches that had haphazardly fallen from the vehicle. "I take it you hurt yourself worse than before."

Amanda shyly nodded as she accepted Jamie's help in exiting the vehicle. Saying a little prayer that her husband would come to her rescue yet again, she accepted her mother's waiting arms for support.

Making sure that his gun holster was safely hidden, Lee exited the vehicle. Walking over to the two women, he took possession of the crutches so Dotty could better hug her daughter. When they pulled out of the embrace, he tapped Amanda on the shoulder and held the crutches out to her, keeping his expression from showing the amusement he found in his wife's comical grimace.

Taking a step towards Dotty, Lee wrapped his mother-in-law in his arms and whispered. "She just needs some of your TLC."

Dotty pulled back and looked up at the somewhat rumpled, but extremely handsome, man next to her. "From the looks of it, you do, too."

Lee squeezed her shoulder, letting out a robust laugh. He then quickly brought his hand to his ribs to ease the pain that his sudden laughter had induced. "I won't object, that's for sure. Especially from such a beautiful woman."

Dotty's eyes narrowed as her lips pressed together tightly in an effort to hold back a smile at his overpowering attempt to get on her good side. "Flattery will get you everywhere, young man."

Phillip had watched his mother and Lee get out of the car and decided it was time to do the same. No sooner had his feet touched the ground than he was met with a hug from his brother. "Phillip, you're safe. I'm so…" he paused when he noticed the cloth sling that was wrapped around his brother's arm for the first time. "What happened to your arm?"

Phillip looked up at his mother and Lee before answering his brother. Closing his eyes as the frightful memories flooded back, he took a deep breath and looked back into the worried eyes of Jamie. "The guy that had me tried to get me to do something I didn't want to and then he got a little mad when I tried to get away." 

Lee caught the look of shock on Dotty's face, whose attention was now focused on her grandsons. Taking a step forward, he placed his hand on Jamie's shoulder. "We'll catch you up on all the details later. The main thing is that everyone's home safe."

Jamie smiled up at the towering figure, and then embraced his brother, once again, this time cautious of the injury. "Welcome home, Phillip."

Phillip returned his hug as best he could. "I guess no basketball for awhile, huh, Dufus?"

Jamie welcomed the familiar teasing and released his brother with a wide smile on his face. "I'd just beat ya anyway, Meathead."

Silence filled the group as Dotty hugged her grandchildren to her chest. A shudder of emotions raced through Amanda's body as she watched tears of joy slide down her mother's cheeks. 

Sliding his hands between the crutches and his wife's body, Lee wrapped his arms around her waist, and pressed his body to hers while they watched the joyous scene before them. "We're very proud of you for being so brave, Phillip," he boasted, hoping to keep everyone's spirits up.

Phillip turned at the sound of Lee's voice, his adrenaline trying to resurface over his exhaustion and medication. Momentarily forgetting the promise he had made to Lee, he broke from his grandmother's embrace, and leaning back against the car door, he began to tell about the events that had ended his captivity. "You should have seen Lee, Jamie, after the bomb went off. I heard Mom saying something about Lee still being in the building. Then when the paramedics had me in the ambulance I wanted to get away and help find Lee, but then Mom and Lee showed up. They looked like they'd been through a world war or something."

"Phillip, I think that's enough for now," Amanda said with an air of authority. She had seen her mother's face pale at the sound of a bomb exploding. She noticed, too, that Kurt had come up and put an arm around Dotty in a gesture of support. She wondered what would happen to her mother and Kurt when all was said and done.

Lee felt Amanda's posture change when Kurt had arrived, and he nodded. "The important thing," he tightened his embrace, "is that everyone made it out okay, and we're all safe and sound, now." He briefly kissed his wife's head and then, careful of her balance, disengaged himself and moved to her side. 

Jamie had remained quiet as he listened to his brother's declaration of admiration for Lee. Thinking of the picture that remained tucked under his pillow, he turned to face the two people he counted on most in life. Taking a step away from his brother, he tentatively stepped closer to Lee. 

Standing only inches from the man he knew would soon be a permanent fixture in his life, Jamie reached out his arms and wrapped them around Lee's waist. The words he spoke were barely above a whisper, but they echoed through his body as his heart opened fully. "You saved, Phillip, just like you said you would. We couldn't find a better person than you to have as a step-father."

Tears welled up in Lee's eyes as he hugged his stepson back. After a moment he said, "You boys mean the world to me. I would do anything--" Stopping at the lump of emotion that formed in his throat, he looked up at Phillip.

Phillip nodded his agreement as he joined in the embrace. "Ya know we love you, Lee."

Amanda felt as though her heart would break at the sight. Three of the most important men in her life were standing before her, sharing the most tender of moments. 

Lee looked up at the intense eyes of his wife, and then looked back down at the boys nestled in his strong arms. He knew he had truly found a family of his own, and no matter where they were, as long as they were together, it would be home for him. "I love you both," he replied, his voice cracking. 

Returning his gaze back to his wife, he saw the look of love in her eyes. The emotions that ran through his body were no longer scary, but he wasn't quite ready to show the entire family his weak side just yet. Trying his best to regain his composure, he released his hold on the boys. "Come on, let's go see about getting out of these clothes." Phillip nodded, and the three headed towards the porch.

Lee stopped briefly as he thanked the surrounding agents that had brought them home, as Jamie and Phillip continued to the house. 

Jamie stopped halfway up the walk as he remembered the new member of the household that Phillip had not yet met. "Phillip."

Phillip glanced back at his brother. "Come on, Jamie. I'm starving. Hospital food stinks."

"I need to tell you something." Jamie took the few steps required to stand beside his now confused brother. "Grandpa West is here."

Phillip's brow creased as he looked back at Kurt and Dotty approaching them. "Weasel said something about Grandpa, but Grandpa died a long time ago. Didn't he?"

Jamie smiled at the bewildered look his brother held. "Nope. He's here."

Phillip looked up the steps to see a man in a wheelchair looking intently at the crowd in the yard. "Is that our grandfather?"

Jamie nodded as he stepped in front of Phillip and led the way into the house. "Come on, Meathead. Let me introduce you to him. He's really cool!"

Phillip glanced back, once again, to catch the watchful eyes of Lee on him. Seeing the reassuring smile on Lee's face and the acknowledgement of the truth in his eyes, he joined Jamie on the steps to the house. "Let's go meet him."

Amanda turned to follow when she noticed her father watching from inside the house. She couldn't quite tell if she saw joy or sadness on his face. However, as she looked closer, she realized that his gaze was on her mother and Kurt. New tears began to form as she realized that there was still one ending that had not yet been written. As she got closer, she had a feeling, from the look of sadness, of how this chapter of their lives would go. 

Amanda waited at the bottom of the steps for her husband to assist her as her thoughts focused on her father, deciding that she would at least come up with some way of keeping the family together. If nothing else, her father was coming home with them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wrapping a soft blue blanket securely around her shoulders and propping her injured ankle up on the pillow that had been left on the coffee table from the previous days, Amanda leaned back against the comforts provided by the couch. Her brown eyes slowly focused on the remnants of the government equipment that littered the living room. Lingering on the pile of files that had been haphazardly tossed into a box waiting for pickup, a pang of worry invaded her thoughts. 

Lee leaned against the foyer wall, studying his wife's subdued manner. She had, once again, become uncharacteristically quiet after returning back at the bed and breakfast. He was sure that her thoughts mirrored his own. How were they going to handle telling her family the truth about their jobs? How was Smyth going to treat them now that they didn't have the protection of the President to keep them together as a team, especially now that he was aware of their marriage?

Amanda looked to the door at the sound of her husband's heavy sigh. Patting the cushion beside her, she smiled softly at his worried eyes. "Come here, big fella."

Pulling his hands from his pockets, Lee slowly walked over and joined her on the couch. Amanda instantly entwined her fingers with his as he sat beside her and placed her hands into his lap. Laying her head against the soft green flannel that covered her husband's shoulders, the light aroma of his soap and the dampness of his hair from his recent shower took her mind back to the first morning they had shared at the bed and breakfast. 

Releasing her hands to wrap his arms around her small frame, Lee tucked her head under his chin, nestling his head into the silk of her brown hair. Completely blocking out the events of the previous days, they both sat in silence, enjoying the familiar comfort and feel of each other's bodies. Time slowed and almost seem to stop.

Amanda was the first to stir, pulling back slightly to look up, only to find her husband's eyes closed, lips slightly parted in a deep sleep. Trying to shift back into the same position she had pulled back from, she felt the soft groan in his chest as he began to wake. 

Pulling her back close to his body, Lee placed the fingers of his left hand under her chin and tilted her face up to brush his lips against hers. "I'm sorry, baby. I guess I fell asleep on you."

Amanda placed her fingers on his lips as she began to trace their outline. "I think we all could do for a good nights sleep, but I think we need to talk some about what is going to happen when we get home."

Lightly running his fingers through the soft curls that rested against her neck, he couldn't resist tasting what his fingers stroked. "Shhh…There'll be plenty of time for that when we get there. Everything has pretty much been wrapped up here, for now." He placed a kiss next to her ear. "The boys are enjoying tall tales from your father in the kitchen, and your mother and Kurt have gone to the beach for some time alone. Let's just enjoy the time we have as a family until we have to go back to D.C." He placed another kiss a little lower on her neck.

Amanda closed her eyes as she titled her head to the left, giving him better access to the sensitive spots he knew so well. It had only been a few days since they had shared the luxury of a private moment, but it felt like an eternity. As he continued to place a hot trail down her neck, she ignored the exhaustion that had invaded her body and reacted upon the needs Lee was causing to well up in her. 

Wrapping the fingers of her left hand into the damp hair that rested against her cheek, she placed her other hand on his right thigh and slowly massaged his muscles through the stone-washed denim of his jeans. Smiling at the soft groan that escaped his lips, she continued her delicate ministrations, quickly causing the material to tighten against his growing arousal. 

Tensing slightly, as her hand glided over the strained material, he slid his hands down the outside of her legs, pulling them to stretch across his own. "Oh god, Amanda. I missed you…I need you."

Amanda's eyes quickly turned from a sparkling tease to intense passion as his lips trailed down her neck, across her throat, and then ventured further down. Feeling his hand ease beneath the blanket, she released a raspy breath as it found the soft mounds of her flesh. "Lee…"

Lee smiled against the warm skin of her chest as he felt her trembling hands tugging at the material of his shirt, trying to pull it free of his jeans. Never letting his lips leave her skin, he huskily whispered against her throat. "Let's take this someplace a little more private."

Amanda managed to nod her agreement as her body continued to react to his touch. Feeling him suddenly tense and pull at the blanket that covered her, she looked up. 

Clearing his throat, Lee pulled away from her, taking part of the blanket with him to cover his lower body. "Hello, Dotty."

A knowing smile graced Dotty's face as she looked at the couple lost in each other. "Am I interrupting something?"

The scarlet red that crept into her daughter's cheeks, and the lowered eyes of her soon-to- be-son-in-law, answered her question. She thanked the good Lord every day that her daughter had found happiness, and after the past few days' events she could add to her prayers of thanks that her grandsons would have a wonderful man to help them grow into men. 

The deep sound of Lee's voice brought her eyes back to the couple. "Is everything okay, Dotty?"

Her smile growing wider with each step she took towards the couple, she stood before the two. "Fine, Lee. I just wanted to say goodnight to you both."

Dotty glanced at her daughter to find the same expression she had worn as a child when she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Dotty began to chuckle as she looked back to Lee's darkened hazel eyes. 'Whew! What a cookie jar to get your hand caught in.' Leaning forward, she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. "You look after her for me tonight."

Unbelievable to Lee, he felt his cheeks warm at the insinuation in his mother-in-law's eyes. Continuing her wide smile, she leaned over her daughter and placed a kiss in her hair, as she whispered in her ear. "I love you, Amanda. Thank you."

Amanda looked up at her mother with questioning eyes, as Dotty released her and turned to leave. "For what, mother?"

Dotty glanced back before she left the room, her eyes falling on the handsome man that possessively held her daughter. "For not listening to your mother's warnings and stealing a Tollhouse cookie from the cookie jar."

Dotty could hear the confusion of the young couple by their whispered questions as she went up the steps to her bedroom. 'Ah yes," she thought with a smile, "the Tollhouse cookie. It's incredible looking on the outside…soft on the inside…and pure satisfaction once tasted.' A soft laugh escaped her as she reached her door and turned the knob. 

Stopping just inside the doorway, her humor vanished as she looked at the empty bedroom where she would spend her night alone. She knew she had a lot of decisions to make in the upcoming days, and prayed that her life would find its way down the same path of happiness that her daughter had found.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lee looked down at his contented wife as the sounds of his stepsons' good-natured teasing neared the living room. "So much for a little privacy." 

Amanda shrugged her shoulders in apology as her sons entered the room, hands full of snacks. Lee's eyes widened again in appreciation of the teenagers' appetite. "You guys heading to bed?"

Grinning, both boys made their way over to the chairs opposite their "parents." Lee instinctively tightened his hold around Amanda's body as he felt her tremble at the sight of Phillip grimacing as he began to sit down. 

Phillip looked at his mother's worried expression and returned it with a tired smile. "Yep. Believe it or not, I think I could sleep for a week." 

Jamie's expression mirrored his mother's as he looked over at his brother. "Don't worry, Mom. I'll look after Phillip tonight."

Amanda smiled at the two young men before her. "I know you will, Jamie. Now you two had better head up to bed if you're going to help out with Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow."

Jamie snickered as he looked over at Phillip. "Yeah, we heard that Lee's supposed to help cook the turkey."

Amanda slowly shook her head at the boys teasing. "Now, boys, Lee's a very good cook."

Continuing their laughter at Lee's expense, Phillip stood slowly and walked over to Lee, placing his good hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, we know he can cook a great steak, he's a master at hamburgers, but what we want to see is him and Grandma in the kitchen together."

Lee tried to hide the smile that was bursting to come out. "I think I can handle your Grandmother."

Jamie had found his way to his mother's side by the time Phillip had started his commentary about their grandmother. "Grandma is like one of those KGB agents you see on television when it comes to her kitchen."

Lee looked over at his wife's shocked expression before glancing up at his oldest stepson. "I think I can handle her, boys. You might be surprised." Smiling at his wife's sudden squirming at the mention of KGB agents, he looked back up at Phillip. "Now go on up and get in bed. We have a lot to do tomorrow if we're going to fix dinner and check out Kurt's plane. We need to make sure it's ready for him, Jamie, and your Grandmother to fly back day after tomorrow."

Jamie's face beamed with excitement at Lee's words. "I can't wait." Looking at his brother, who still had his hand on Lee's shoulder, his face became serious. "I wish you'd go with us, Phillip."

Phillip tightened his grip on Lee as he smiled at his brother. "I'll catch the next flight. I don't mind riding back home with Mom and Lee."

Shrugging his shoulders, Jamie headed for the door. "Suit yourself, but it's gonna be a blast. Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Lee."

Phillip released Lee's shoulder and bent over to kiss his mother goodnight. Looking at his brother's retreating form, a weary smile tugged at his mouth as he turned back to look at the two adults. "I've had enough 'blast' to last me awhile." He then moved slowly to follow his brother up to their room.

Amanda and Lee both stared at the living room doorway until they could no longer hear the footsteps of their children. Lee gently pulled his wife's head back under his chin as he stroked her arm. "They'll be fine, Amanda. We'll all work through this together."

Amanda relaxed in his embrace with the knowledge that, together, their family could do anything. It would be a long path of healing, both physically and mentally, for them, but as a family there was nothing that was not possible. "I love you, Lee."

Gently pulling back from her, his eyes full of promises for the future, he placed his left hand on her cheek. "I love you, too." Giving her a mischievous smile, he trailed the fingers of his right hand down her back. "What would you say to a cup of hot cocoa and a romantic fire before I tuck you into bed for the night?" Lee cursed himself as he felt his wife tense beneath his hands. "I'm sorry, honey. I shouldn't have mentioned the fire."

Closing her eyes tightly to the images that would haunt her dreams for some time to come, she snuggled closer to her husband. "A fire would be nice, Lee. As long as you're here with me to help me get over my fears, I'll be fine."

Lee gently rocked her in his arms, swearing a silent promise to protect her until the day he died. "I'm not going anywhere."

Amanda smiled against the soft fabric that covered his chest, giving it a small pat with her hand. A soft laugh escaped her lips as she continued to rub the material against the hardness of his chest. 

Tilting his head down to look into her eyes, he couldn't help but laugh at the mischief that was etched in her features. "What?"

Amanda shook her head slightly before pulling back to fully look at his face. "I was just thinking how you said you didn't like flannel, and now I hardly see you wearing anything else when you're relaxing."

Rolling his eyes at her comment, he pulled her back to his chest. "I never said I didn't like flannel." 

Amanda worked her fingers in between the buttonholes of his shirt to feel his bare chest. "Yes, you did."

Trying to hide the uneasiness from his voice, he cleared his throat before speaking. "I didn't say that I didn't like flannel. I just didn't like wearing Dan's, and it was plaid, for god sakes!"

Amanda continued to chuckle as she corrected him. "Dean."

A tinge of jealously at the mention of another man in Amanda's life caused Lee to tense. "You never have told me what you were doing with his clothes at your house."

Amanda placed her hand firmly on his chest, careful not to touch the bandages that bound his ribs, and pushed herself up into a sitting position. "You'll just have to interrogate me over that cup of cocoa you mentioned, Scarecrow."

Lee raised his eyebrows at the challenge. "You know I'll get it out of you."

Amanda's eyes danced with amusement as she tugged at her bottom lip with her teeth. "Confident, aren't you?"

A smug smile came to his lips as he gently eased her back against the couch then placed her legs gently back to rest on the cushions as he stood. "I'm going to get that cocoa and start a fire. You just stay here and get prepared for Scarecrow's interrogation." Tucking the edges of the blanket around her legs, he leaned forward to brush his lips against hers. "I still have a few secret moves you haven't seen yet."

Amanda's soft laughter could be heard in the kitchen as he retrieved two mugs from the cabinet. Placing the teakettle on the stove to heat the water, he thought about his earlier conversation with Lorna. She and Mick had offered their master bedroom to himself and Amanda, noting that with their injuries, the steps would be way too difficult for them to climb.

Raising an empty mug towards the ceiling, he bowed slightly. "Thanks." 

Realizing that he would have to find his way back to Kurt's room before the rest of the house awoke the next morning, he was just glad to know that they would have a few hours together as man and wife before heading back to their secret lives. 

Leaning back against the counter while he waited for the water to boil, his thoughts drifted to the secret life that he had been leading over the past few months with his wife. Tilting his head back and placing his hands to his aching ribs, he closed his eyes. "Who are you kidding, Stetson. You've always lived a life full of secrets and lies…and no one to share them with." 

Opening his eyes to stare at the wooden ceiling, a smile of satisfaction eased its way onto his lips. "Until now." Amanda was soon to be announced to the world as his wife, and there were no better sounding words to him than Amanda Stetson.

As he listened to the water begin to hiss, he made up his mind that it would indeed have to be a short engagement. They had a lot to decide when they got home, not only how to deal with the Agency's reaction, but whether they would reside in Arlington or buy a new house. The thoughts of starting their life in a new home excited him. Perhaps a new beginning for all of them as a family was needed in a new home, a place to make their own memories to treasure in their golden years together as man and wife.

Shaking his head slightly at the sentimental thoughts that raced through his head, he turned the stove off and began to pour the steaming water over the powered cocoa in the mugs. Slowly adding the marshmallows one at a time, he drifted again to the thoughts of Nighthawk living with them as their lives began together. 

Placing the mugs on an empty tray that lay on the counter, he looked up at the wall, which was covered in pictures of children at play. He had never stopped to notice or to even think that other agents had lives with families outside the world of espionage. A shiver of pleasure went up his spine at the thought of adding a new member to the family. Perhaps, one day, a child of their own. 

Returning to the living room with beverages in hand, he found his wife snuggled amongst the blanket, sound asleep. The peaceful expression on her face brought him as much pleasure as, if not more than, a night of heated passion. Setting the tray down on the end table near the door, he went to stand over her. 

A soft moan escaped her lips as he eased her body from the couch into his arms. A pain shot through his side at the added weight of her body on his frame, but he never faltered as he carried her the distance to their room. 

Stripping her of her clothing with the stealth his profession demanded, he did the same for himself and regretfully set the alarm clock to the wee hours of the morning. As he slipped beneath the covers of the king-size bed, his eyes looked over the bruised skin of his beloved, the dark areas standing out in the moonlight that poured through the window. Pushing back the demon of anger that threatened to emerge, he pulled her soft body against his rigid one. 

As he watched the moonbeams dance across her face, he marveled at how well they fit together. It was as if they had been poured together at the beginning of time and then separated, only to find each other later in life. Closing his eyes to the feeling of peace that flowed from her into him, he drifted off to sleep with dreams of their family's future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Richard watched Amanda and Lee as they stood together on the front porch of the White Swan. They had invited him to join them in an early Thanksgiving feast, but he was going to make sure that all the equipment was safely returned to his agency's headquarters. Exhaling a puff of smoke from his cigarette, he opened his car door and followed the last van out of the parking lot. They had picked up the remaining equipment and tied up the remaining loose ends at the White Swan. Glancing once more at the cozy building, he let a gratified smile cross his lips. 

He was glad that Nighthawk was reunited with his family and that everyone was back, safe and sound. Weasel's men had all been rounded up, thanks to the description they had gotten from Weasel's second-in-command, Dolenz. He laughed at the memory of Dolenz willingly giving himself up. Of course, anyone with brains would have when face-to-face with seven angry agents, all aiming guns at you. 

The government could feel a little safer, now that they had retrieved the highly sought after list from Weasel's clutches. There was a lot of work to be done when news leaked out of just who was on that list, but that was for another day. Steering his car onto the main road, he headed towards his office to file his report and take care of a detail or two. 

Nighthawk had asked him to do one last favor for him, and he too had a favor to ask the President concerning Dr. Smyth's dealings with Scarecrow and Mrs. King's future. After that, he could close the record books on Nighthawk West for good. The knowledge that Weasel no longer threatened the West family eased his conscience and Richard could now head home to his own family and be a full-time part of their lives.

Amanda paused as they entered the main foyer. The joyful sounds of her family working together to prepare a wonderful feast and prepare the table for dinner made a feeling of warmth flow through her. 

Lee grew a bit concerned at his wife's sudden pause, but it was pushed aside when he saw the bright smile on her face. "Penny for your thoughts," he commented as he turned and placed a kiss on her cheek.

Amanda turned to meet his gaze and, leaning the single crutch she was using against the wall, wrapped her arms around his neck. "I was just thinking how lucky we are. I don't know what I would've done if anything had happened to Phillip or you. We have a wonderful family, you know that Mr. Stetson?"

Lee wrapped his arms around her waist and gently captured her lips with his. Breaking the kiss, he pulled her closer to him in a warm embrace. He nuzzled her hair with his nose and whispered into her ear, "Yes, dear wife, we do. Thank you for making me a part of it."

Before Amanda could answer, a crash sounded in the dining room. "Oh no." She reached out for her crutch. "I guess we better go see who just broke what," she said in a motherly tone. 

Lee grasped her free hand as they made their way slowly towards the sounds of two teenage boys bickering. As they passed the living room, a movement caught Amanda's eye. She saw her mother and father over by the fireplace and raised a curious eyebrow at her husband. Lee nodded in understanding and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Watching the scene for a second, they then turned and continued in the direction of the dining room.

"So Frank, what will you do now?" Dotty asked.

Frank looked up at his wife. The glow from the fire danced on her golden hair. "Well, I feel as I've been given a second chance, somehow. Amanda's invited me to move in with her, Lee, and the boys. I hesitated at first, but she was most insistent. I realized it will give me a chance to get to know my grandsons, as well as our daughter, again."

Dotty noticed that Frank hadn't mentioned her in that scenario. She knew Amanda's house was too small for all of them, and it would take some time for her to adjust to living under the same roof with Frank again. "But…what about…us?"

Frank moved his wheelchair a little closer to his wife. He reached out and took her hand in his. "Dotty—I think 'us' died a long time ago. You've moved on, and I've been living in the past. I believe the only way to truly keep you in my life—is to make you happy. Captain Kurt makes you happy, doesn't he?"

Dotty guiltily nodded her head. "Frank, I'm not sure…"

Frank brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Dotty, I've asked Agent Fire to arrange for divorce papers to be drawn up. I want you to marry Kurt and continue moving on with your life. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but I realized that what we had was in the past, and you have a future waiting for you, as do I. I realized that our futures aren't meant to be made together. You'll always be in my heart." He paused and moved his gaze to the crackling fire. "It'll be hard for me to see you with another man, but I believe we can move forward as a part of our daughter's life as friends rather than trying to make something work that doesn't have a real chance." He released her hand and brought his gaze back to her eyes.

  
Tears welled up in Dotty's eyes, and for the first time in a long time, she found herself speechless. Bending down she wrapped her arms around his neck and simply whispered, "Thank you." Placing a kiss on his cheek, she slowly rose and wiped away the tears. She knew he was right and hoped beyond all hope that they could all be one big happy family. 

"Shall we head into dinner?" she asked in a voice just above a whisper. She would wait till later to tell Kurt the news. It saddened her, somehow, that Frank would no longer be her husband; yet, she felt strangely at peace. 

Frank shook his head. "No. You go on. I'll be in shortly." She nodded her understanding and quietly left the room to join their family.

Amanda had checked on the boys and, confirming that all was okay, she went to check on her parents. She had guiltily been watching from the hallway door and had seen the loving exchange between them. She watched as her mother headed into the dining room before slowly hobbling over and placing a hand on her father's shoulder. 

Bending down she kissed his cheek. "You still love her don't you, Daddy?"

Frank slowly nodded. "Yes, but it's a love filled with respect for who she's become…mixed in with the memories of the woman I left behind all those years ago." Raising his hand, he patted hers. "Come on, I'm anxious to celebrate this Thanksgiving feast with my family." Moving his hand towards the wheel of the chair, he stopped and moved it to touch his daughter's hand again. "I love you, Panda," he said as he listened to the sounds of their busy family getting the feast ready.

"I love you, too, Daddy. Welcome home." Amanda left her hand on his shoulder as he turned and headed toward the dining room.

Frank's eyes grew moist at the image of his family before him as they entered the room. So many years alone, and now he was complete. Amanda grasped his hand as they drew near the head of the table where he was to sit. "Daddy, would you say grace for us?"

Frank joined hands with his son-in-law to his left and his daughter to his right. All heads looked towards him as a single tear found its way down his cheek. "Giving thanks for what we have would be an honor, my Panda." All heads bowed as he closed his eyes and began, "I give thanks for this wonderful feast, but most of all, I give thanks for my family."

The End

Or is it?


End file.
